The Dark Kingdom
by Terah Nightwind
Summary: The battle between the Moon Kingdom and the Dark Kingdom 'ended' 1000 years ago and the Dark Kingdom was vanquished... or was it?
1. Chapter 1

This story was inspired by an RP with a friend of mine. We have taken tremendous liberties with the original Sailor Moon Storyline in its creation.

There had been a battle, they knew that much. Many denizens were unaware of what exactly had happened for several days until the generals began to pour back in, wounded, near death. Sailor Earth among them. Her short, white hair was stained with blood, and it ran down her arms and face. Limping in, using her sword as a crutch, it was she who gave them the news.

"The queen is dead!" she roared, trying to stand on her own. There was a hush over the entire kingdom as her voice carried to the far corners. "She is dead! Killed by THEM! I saw it!"

She dropped to one knee, coughing blood up. It was… strange. It smelled odd to several around her, but her words were far more important.

"The queen lays dead at their feet! We are BROKEN!"

Her eyes went wide and she choked, spitting up more blood. Some went to tend to her at once, others broke into screams, others wondered… who would lead now?

* * *

><p>Sailor Earth, her true name unknown to the others, lay in her bed, bandaged up. One of the servants, a young boy, was tending to her while his elder brother was in a war conference as one of the generals. He was trying to change the bandages on her arm when she awoke with a start, trying to sit up.<p>

"What…?" she asked, putting a hand to her head. "Th-the battle… I must…"

He gaped, not sure what to do. She did this sometimes. After severe wounds, she would black out and loose memories from right before. It had been discovered only a few weeks ago, when the fighting had grown more intense. When she tried to stand, he sprung up.

"You can't get up," he pleaded "you're badly hurt."

She gazed down at him, staring at him with her yellow eyes. She seemed to stare through him and it always made him uncomfortable. She wasn't like them, after all. Sailor Earth was… different.

"The battle stopped, it ended. We lost."

"I don't-"

"You blacked out."

Earth leaned forward, willing those memories to come back. It was shaky, but in the end, she had an idea of how it had happened. "We lost."

"I need to change your bandages."

She looked back over to him and nodded, going to undo the fastenings on her arm, watching him blanche at the sight of the wound. He managed to redo the job, and stumbled back. Earth was unsure if he could do the others. She was numb where they were, she was sure the wounds were just as hideous.

"Go find another to aid me," her voice commanded. The boy stood and hurried out of the room as she got back up, walking to the window, gazing out into darkness. There was no wind to greet her in this desolate, hostile place. It was their fault things were this way. She found herself growing angrier with each moment.

"You're awake. I was beginning to wonder," a voice greeted. She didn't bother turning around.

"The little one couldn't handle the sight of the gore. I trust you to fare better."

There was a laugh as she pulled her robe open to allow access to her bandaged mid-section, the new attendant came to tend to her.

"How terrifying. Our mighty Sailor Earth couldn't handle a few enemy soldiers. What hope do we have if they plan to march on us?" the attendant asked.

"We are far too broken for them to concern their selves with us. I'm sure they'll return to their corrupting ways soon enough." She looked back out the window, hissing as the bandages were tightened, already growing pink from blood still seeping out.

"You haven't been checked in a long time. Is it wise for you to be up?"

"I'll be fine. This place sustains me."

"Hm. Nevertheless, you should take it easy," he chastised "you don't want to be opening those wounds with such a struggle going on."

"You speak as though this concerns me. Surely the queen has an heir-"

"None."

Her head snapped up, she moved to him, grabbing his shoulder. "What was that?"

"Oh? The struggle?" the attendant asked. He was met with a glare. "Ah, you didn't know about that. Perhaps that blackout did more than erase temporary memories."

"Ukito, you mean to say we are without a ruler?"

"Yes. A terrible thing, too. Many are fighting over power. Several of the generals are in argument about it as we speak, I think they plan to crown one of themselves and continue on."

She didn't stay to hear. She was out the door as Ukito watched. There was little to do to stop her when she set her mind to something. Earth stormed past the boy, shoved her way through several servants and only had to knock one person over for not moving fast enough to suit her quick pace.

"What is going on?" she roared, her voice carrying once more, washing over the squabbling generals, causing them to stop what they were doing. One looked back, frowning at her. Of all the others, he disliked her the most, though he did not know why.

"It is none of your business! We seek the right to rule!"

"And I was not invited to your conference? I am a general to the old queen as well!"

"You are an outsider!"

That stung at Earth, but she didn't let it show. She pulled her sword free of its sheath, the jagged runes carved into the steel of the blade causing the air around it to sing with its movements.

"I may be an outsider, but I was the most trusted confidant of the queen, General Yukio! I led the attack when their intentions became clear! I defended her in her final moments, I took many of the blows for her, and where were you!" she shouted, pointing the blade at him. "You were here! Claiming illness kept you from the fighting! Now we would allow a coward on our throne?"

"You returned when many did not! Why did you live and so many others die? You are the coward! I am positive those 'injuries' of yours are self-inflicted!"

Many sat silent and stared at the two, the anger between them so intense it was choking.

"I will not sit idle and allow a child on the throne! I don't care if your tactics had won us many a battle, you are a child!" Earth's face went red; her vision was clearer than it had ever been. Her yellow eyes pierced through him and for a moment, only a moment, General Yukio considered stepping down.

"And I will not allow an outsider be our queen!" he roared, striking her.

Earth's head snapped back as she was hit with a backhand and she put her palm to where the injury struck. With a growling noise, she lashed out, raising her sword, attacking him in a flurry. Her sword stuck in the ground, she ripped it out, bringing bits of the floor with her, rushing him. The others moved back, knowing full well that interference would likely mean their deaths.

"You will not be my King!"

"You will not be my Queen!"

The anger filled the room, many people fled in a panic when the blade of Sailor Earth sliced apart a pillar of marble, clean through. It toppled over as she was struck back into it. The fire in her eyes was intense, she was wild, jumping up, bringing the blade down. It sliced the air, the air around it sung, the material that was harder than steel came crashing down, missing General Yukio by inches. He backed away and ran from the room, Earth collapsed to one knee, holding her side in pain.

"Damn…"

* * *

><p>Ukito had tended to her wounds once more and she was waking in her bed once more. The little boy was in there, watering the few flowers she could get to bloom anymore.<p>

"You," she whispered "are here again?"

He looked up and nodded a little, going back to his work. "They were going to die. You've been asleep for a few days."

A few days. "Has your brother taken over? Am I to bow to his lead now?"

The boy shook his head, not looking up as he plucked the dead leaves, careful of the thorns.

"No. Yukio is injured, too. You managed to hit him before he left the battle. No one else is trying, they all fear it." He picked up his watering can once more, gently pouring the liquid out onto the plant itself.

"…what is your name," she wondered, still watching him carefully. He looked up, startled that she would even care to ask for something that should have been so trivial to her.

"M-my name? Uh… it's Hirokazu." She was acting strangely in his mind. Why did she even care about such things as his name? "Are you well? Should I summon for Ukito?"

Shaking her head, Earth stood up and wandered to the door, pulling her robe closed as she did. There was a power struggle going on, one that truly concerned her and she'd be damned if she were lying in bed as it happened. Hirokazu watched her walk out the door and she closed it behind her. The soft 'click' indicated a fear coming to pass… she had just locked the boy in.

"She is a lying WHORE!" General Yukio shouted, slamming both fists into the conference table, causing the men around him to jump. "I will be DAMNED if I listen to her!"

The others around him merely listened as he raved and ranted on about the Senshi of the Earth. She was a whore, she was no good, useless… his list went on and he began to repeat himself, though it mattered little to him that he was. His anger called for it.

"For all we know, for all the time she has spent THERE, she could be one of THEM!" he reminded, gesturing in the overly general direction of 'there'.

"One of what, dear general?" the woman in question asked smoothly, smiling from her place in the door. She did not have her weapon with her, she was not transformed at this time, but she still commanded respect… even when dressed for bed.

"You know DAMN good and well what I mean!" He seethed as his head swam. The sight of this woman gave him a headache. Neither was fully recovered, he wished he was capable of combat. He would destroy her where she stood. She didn't belong, she was an outsider… and she was trying to become their Queen, only days after she had been killed by the enemy.

"You're getting that look on your face again," the woman teased, trying her best to agitate him without opening her own wounds any further. "You're looking at me like that again. If you want to kiss me so badly, then come on."

The smirk on her face made his go red with anger.

"The LAST thing I'd ever want to do is kiss some scum-sucking whore such as you! You DISGUST me!" He felt the veins in his head ready to pop, and he turned to storm away before that happened.

"I can sleep anywhere, you know," she said as he walked past her and was well into the hallway. Against his better judgment, General Yukio stopped and looked back. She wasn't looking at him, and that just made him angrier.

"What do you babble about now?"

"You have a choice to make, my dear general. You either abdicate your claim to the crown… or I destroy the only key to my room."

He began to laugh. It started quietly and slowly built until he was holding the smooth, stone wall for support. He feared he would open his wounds, but her 'threat' was pathetic at best.

"Y-you honestly expect me to fear that? What is in your room that I could possibly desire? Your corpse, perhaps," he mused, trailing off at the thought.

The snort she gave off then made him wonder.

"I was referring to your brother, Hirokazu. The windows are locked; the door is reinforced… why, if he were to stay in there for too long, he could die."

Earth stepped back, avoiding a punch to her face and spun, avoiding one to her back, now facing the enraged general.

"You bitch!" he screamed, trying to strike her. Impossible, she would simply dance away from his blows, leaving him exhausted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Though he despised this woman… his brother was far too important to him to risk losing over something like a squabble.

He had no choice but to accept, and it ripped at his insides to do so.

* * *

><p>It had been two weeks since that fateful battle, between the two kingdoms, when their queen had been killed. Sailor Earth was well again, she no longer needed bandages, a daily salve kept infection at bay. Hirokazu had been released only once the coronation had been announced and General Yukio had renounced his claim, taking his younger brother into his arms to hug him and make sure he was uninjured. Aside from coming out smelling like the flowers Sailor Earth kept in her room, he was fine.<p>

The woman in question was on the throne, the ceremony short and simple, considering many were needed elsewhere as soon as possible to restore what had been damaged in fighting, that last wave that had killed so many. She stood with her sword at the side of the throne, the simple crown on her head, still in her uniform, as though she expected a battle.

"The battle we waited for so long, the end of the fighting has come and fate was cruel to us. We have lost, and we are a broken kingdom, under THEIR rule."

The crowd was hushed as she spoke; none dared to even breathe loudly.

"THEY are in control, and they claim to others that WE are the ones who are evil! They accuse, they lie, they cheat, the subjugate us and force us into submission to THEM! They won that battle, but I will NEVER allow the war to be over! Our queen's ashes are scattered on THEIR soil, desecrated by their evil ways, and they expect us to be obedient children and bow our heads in THANKS to THEM for our very LIVES!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became, her yellow eyes staring out at the others.

"I will not let the war end, not until we are free once more! I am the Queen, I am the one who will bring salvation to our people, to this place that has welcomed me and sustains my existence! They claim we are evil, that they are righteous, so we will EMBRACE the brand they have cast on us! If the claim we are evil, we will BE evil! For if their rule is 'good', I can see no other path to take!"

As she spoke, even General Yukio, who stood in the back, holding his brother aloft on his shoulders to let him see, began to feel a spark of respect for the woman's tenacity, the fire she had. He wondered if maybe he had been wrong about her.

"No longer are we the Golden Kingdom, the Kingdom of Elysion! The old royal family runs to the very Moon Kingdom that rules as tyrants! The name is DEAD! Never speak it in our sacred halls again! Forevermore will we be the Dark Kingdom!"


	2. Chapter 2

They had held their own.

By some miracle granted by God, they had managed to somehow stabilize, repelling the attacking forces and getting the kingdom slowly rebuilt. Many of the Generals were to be thanked for the effort, though a large bulk of it went to the combined efforts of General Yukio and the Queen Lady Earth.

The Queen Lady Earth had been amongst the people of the Moon long enough to know their battle strategies, while Yukio had fought them enough to know how to push them back. There was now a break in the fighting, a brief window to rest and recover.

Lady Earth was in her room, her grievous wounds slowly healing themselves. She had brought stability to the newly renamed Dark Kingdom, had cast out the corrupting influences of Queen Metallia, and felt she deserved a brief rest. None questioned it, though Yukio was known to make his disgust for her known when she wasn't there.

Hirokazu was tending to her rose bushes once more, humming to himself to stay entertained. It was confusing to Lady Earth as to how Yukio was a respected General, whilst his younger brother was little more than a maltreated servant. She had no problems with the younger of the two and had named him her personal attendant. He seemed to enjoy tending her plants, so she allowed him to do that more than anything.

At the moment, she was sitting down, wishing for a cool breeze of fresh air, though it would not come. She was sore and had taken to, as Ukito put it, 'hacking up a lung' every quarter hour.

Hirokazu was worried about her, but he never told his brother about it. If Yukio were to know, he would use the knowledge to usurp power, and would risk getting hurt, and Yukio was all the boy had. Plucking leaves from another plant, he went over to the queen, handing them to her.

"Here. Breathe them."

Unsure, she took the sticky leaves into her hand, crushing them between her fingers and studying them for a few moments, before she held them to her nose and inhaled deeply. In a matter of moments, it felt like she had gone numb, the pain vanished.

"What is this?"

"You weren't feeling good."

Lady Earth nodded, as though he had just shared a profound wisdom with her.

"How old are you, Hirokazu?"

There was a noticeable pause, before he simply responded with 'three'. She didn't seem to believe him.

"You've been here three years? I asked-"

"I'm three. Me and Yukio got caught in an attack right before you came along," he told her, going back to what he'd been doing. "Queen Metallia made us older, 'cause she didn't want kids running around. I'm three, and my brother is five."

Earth was stunned at the revelation. Her most hated rival really WAS a child, and the knowledge made her ache inside at how she had thought of him. She had no hatred of children at all.

"I-I am s-sorry. Had I know, I-I would have not acted towards him in such a way." She forced herself to stand for the little boy, coughing hard from the effort. He went to help her back to her seat, but she just dropped to her knees before him, pulling him into a hug. Hirokazu could feel her ragged breathing as she was trying to hold herself upright in such an uncomfortable position.

"We should go and correct this at once."

* * *

><p>She had. The Lady Earth had taken Hirokazu at once, into the place where Metallia had been, and through her efforts, she was able to teach the boy to release. She watched him for long moments while nothing happened, before she felt a breeze begin to pick up.<p>

It grew and grew, moving outwards with gathering force and the boy lifted up from the ground. The Dark Energy that came from him had a smell like poison, it was so sweet it made the queen sick and she covered her nose with her hand, smelling the remains of the leaves on them.

"It will be okay, Hirokazu!" she called out. "You're doing wonderful!"

The queen continued to stand there and watch, holding her free hand out against the energy, watching it rush through her, adding to her. She felt herself be boosted by the power and smiled. She would not let this child contain such poison within himself, if any should be harmed because of it, let it be her.

Finally, there was an explosion, the force of which threw her back into the ground. Terrified of a surprise attack, she hurried to her feet, drawing her sword. But there were no Sailor Senshi there. Rather, there was a small child standing uncertainly in the middle of the platform, looking around. As Lady Earth stood, hissing in pain from her injuries, the child fell back to his rear and began to cry.

* * *

><p>Yukio had been beyond enraged when he learned what had happened to his brother. The anger at which he had allowed to explode out had frightened even the Lady Earth. She had hidden herself, with the child, in her room for three days, allowing only Ukito to enter as he pleased.<p>

"My, my, you've made quite the enemy, m'lady," he said as he walked in with a meal for her and for the little boy who now clung to her. "If you are ever able to leave your chambers again, I daresay none will look you in the eye, at this rate."

He sat the tray down with a grin. Of all, only he spoke freely to her, he respected her, but they were 'friends'. It was something the queen now valued.

"I did what was right by the child; I'll make neither excuses nor apologies." She began to eat, watching Hirokazu mimic her.

"Be that as it may, you're going to need to retake your kingdom once more. A bolstering speech may not be what's needed this time, I'm afraid."

She looked from him to the child and then back. She sat her tray aside and pushed herself to stand, groaning as she did so. Hirokazu continued to eat his meal and Ukito waited where he was for the child to finish. The queen walked to the window, wishing for a breeze of air to whip through.

"Is there news?"

Ukito looked up from the child who was making a mess of things and scratched his head, thinking. "Ah, about that. A rumor runs wild through the masses, the Queen Serenity mounts an invasion."

"This hardly constitutes news, Ukito." She looked at him with mild annoyance in her eye. "I asked for news. Rumors are half-truths, and even this is known to me. Of course she will mount an invasion; she's barely given us any rest."

"The Queen of Light herself plans to lead this invasion into our 'Black Halls of Hell'," he continued as her tirade wound down. When the child finished his meal, Ukito took the trays up. "Shall I send for a maid to clean milady's bedchamber?"

"What did you say?" The queen demanded, turning to him as fast as she could. The room spun from the effort, but she managed to stay on her feet.

"I only asked if you'd like a maid in here to clean the mess and change out your sheets. Mayhap empty the chamber pot?" He grinned like a fool, knowing well what she asked. "Ah, the attack. Yes, I suppose that makes more sense."

"You will answer your queen!" she roared, beginning to cough. It wiped the smile off his face as he ran over to help her into bed with the worried child. "She plans to set foot on our soil. No, I won't allow it. Keep those monsters on their frozen rock, this blue marble belongs to the humans!"

* * *

><p>The Lady Earth could not get out of bed, but it didn't stop her from planning the defenses of her kingdom. Every General was marched into the bedchamber and given orders, even Yukio. Though, he had to be threatened to be dragged in like some runaway child. Some Generals were given commands to secure the population and prepare evacuation, some were given commands to have all food moved to a secure location to keep it from being destroyed by the invaders, others ordered to tighten security in and around the castle.<p>

"You, however," she coughed, pointing to Yukio with a chipped, blue nail "will keep this room secure, until I can move once more."

He grit his teeth and felt his blood begin to boil. "So, I am to babysit the 'queen' while she sleeps the battle away?" he demanded.

"You are to keep the queen safe until she can fight."

"I would rather be on the front lines. After all, there should be a competent warrior leading this battle."

It was an insult. One veiled so thinly, that in itself was even greater an insult.

"I have a competent general on the front lines, why do you think you aren't there?"

That infuriated him and he turned to leave, slamming the door shut behind him. Hirokazu watched carefully from his place under the sheets. The queen only laid herself down onto the pillow that was covered in silk to return to healing sleep.

"Why is he mad?" the child wondered. "How come brother doesn't like you?"

She opened her yellow eyes and looked to him. "What do you mean? I'm sure he likes me just fine. Boys his age are so strange."

"He acted angry. You told him he wouldn't get hurt, right?" When she nodded, he continued. "I don't want brother to get hurt."

"He won't. As much as I'd rather keep him away from me, I'll do what you ask and keep him here."

Hirokazu smiled at that and lay back down with her. Upon the thought crossing her mind that she was keeping Yukio safe by keeping him out of battle made her realize she was certain of their defeat.

She could barely move to her own chamber pot without Ukito's aid. If the warriors could see her fighting, it would bolster them and give hope. If she could just have Yukio's loyalty, it would win the entire kingdom. Their rivalry was the best thing to happen to her campaign, if she could secure his loyalty, none would have quarrel with her.

Hirokazu was fast asleep, but the queen went to stand. The pain was blinding, but she had to try. She wouldn't be weak.

"I don't know what you hope to prove by killing yourself," came Ukito's voice as he stepped into the room. He often joked about being psychic to the queen's needs and this was one of the times she felt he was right. "Should I empty the pot out for you?"

"I would have hoped you'd done it earlier." She glared at him through the pain, limping to the window, where she had view of what would be the battlefield.

"Ah, so I did. I forgot. You have forgotten, too. You have forgotten that your ass needs to stay in bed. My queen is quite weak; I could easily kick the shit out of you for getting up."

"If you were anyone else, I'd kill you where you stand."

"My elderly mother can move quicker than you, and is far more terrifying with a cane. I have little to fear."

She reached for him, wanting his neck in her grasp. He only stepped back lightly and was out of her reach by doing so.

"Now will you lie down, or must I hold you down for the night?"

The battle was over before it had begun, and she was climbing back into her bed with no more fuss, other than a command to remove the heavy quilt.

"It makes my sleep uncomfortable. It becomes too hot."

Ukito nodded and threw the quilt aside and allowed it to pile up in the corner of the room. A maid would have it folded when she woke again. "That may be fever talking. I'll have someone check later."

She promptly fell asleep and he stood in the door for a long time before smiling.

"Sleep well, sister dear."

He left her to her dreams and walked out.


	3. Chapter 3

The castle shook and rocked from the battle as the injured queen tried to ride it out.

Screams of pain and commands blew in through her window. She sat on the window seat and looked out over the battlefield. The walls of the castle held them at bay and protected the people whose homes were being ravaged and destroyed. She had promised to compensate any who lost their homes or businesses; she would have everything rebuilt to how it was before the battle at no cost to the people. They were all willing to go to safety with that promise.

Her soldiers were outnumbered at least three to one, but they had held the walls of the castle.

"I'm scared." The queen looked over to see Hirokazu huddled up under the quilt. It was wound tightly around his body and only his face stuck out. "Where are we gonna go if they come here?"

She reached her arms out to him to beckon him to come, but he just tightened the quilt around himself. "They won't. I have guards in the castle, and your brother is walking this hall. No one is going to get to us."

Looking back out, the Lady Earth watched one of the war machines brought by the Moon topple over. The sight made her smile.

If she could have moved, she would have been on the front lines, ready to fight off the other Sailor Senshi. She was the only one in their kingdom who could stand against that force. She was meant to be one of them, but she felt bad for the humans.

However, she had seen no activity from the Senshi. At the very least, she should have seen fog, or watch lightning come down. It seemed that since she wasn't fighting, the Moon saw no reason to deploy the four.

There was a troubling report that Yukio had brought in. It seemed Endymion was out there, fighting on the side of the Moon. This meant that the majority of the planet was against them.

"They don't understand freedom. They've been enslaved so long that they can't fathom what it's like to choose their own path." She threw the report in the fireplace.

"I'm hungry," Hirokazu said, looking out at her.

"We cannot risk sending for food. I have water in the room, if you would like."

"But I'm hungry. That's the water for the roses, I'm hungry."

She nodded and struggled to stand up.

"This battle will end soon. We will eat then."

Lady Earth looked out the window where another war machine was beginning to crumple and fall.

Where were the Sailor Senshi?

* * *

><p>The battle hadn't ended by the signal of night. The forces of the Moon retreated to rest and regroup, while the armies of the Dark Kingdom began to disassemble anything left behind that might have been useful. They took weapons and armor, as well as pieces of the war machines. As they scavenged, the Lady Earth made her way painfully down the steps from her bedchamber, using her sword as a crutch.<p>

Hirokazu ran on ahead, leaving Ukito to help her along. As soon as she was off the final step, he slapped her in the head as hard as he could.

"You dare to strike me?" she demanded, looking at him. "Do you forget yourself?"

"I believe the question is does milady forget herself and her wounds? I could easily bring your food to you; this will only get you killed."

"If I can go and personally see the Generals-"

He slapped her, though it was light. Of every person in the castle, only Ukito had nothing to fear from any aggression against the queen. After all, they were 'siblings' though not by blood.

"You keep giving Yukio all the ammunition against you he needs. You keep wondering how he does it. If they see you down there, then you were fit enough to fight."

"If they do not, I am a coward who hides under her bed." She hissed and put her hand on her side, which had begun to ache.

"Yes, he will claim that. However, there will be doubt to his claim if you are still injured. I am taking you back up the stairs, and you will eat in your room." He lifted her up as though she weighed no more than a doll and began to carry her back up the stairs. She hit at him, but it did little good. She felt the blood seep through her uniform once more. "When was the last time you even left your transformed state?"

"That is none of your concern," she whined, curling up on herself and pressing her hand into the wound as hard as she could. He reached to pull her brooch off her bow only to have her free hand grab his wrist and stop him. "I will not transform back!"

He only sighed and kicked her door open, going to put her back in bed. As he pulled her boots off, he looked out the window. "This place used to be just as beautiful as the surface. When the solar flare struck was when Metallia came. And when she came, this place darkened at once and has never seen its beauty since. It's like living in a cave."

"I will m-make sure we win. And then we will build a palace on the s-sur-surface." She wanted to sit up, but Ukito wouldn't let her. He just came back over and rewound bandages on her midsection.

"Stay alive long enough for that to happen," he chastised. "Your dreams will die with you."

"And will be reborn with me." That was the promise that made her feel invincible. Even if she were to die, she would be born again. That was what it meant to be a Sailor Senshi. Death could never fully claim you, unless you allowed it.

"A child in diapers sitting upon the throne, her chief advisor changing her when she shits. An amusing sight that would be." He tied the bandages off and sighed. "A fairytale. The Queen Serenity tells it to ensure those four fight without restraint. Their mothers are gone you have said. Their mothers' mothers', and theirs as well. Tell me, have you heard of them returning?"

"It's possible! Perhaps… their memories are just gone," she said, looking to him. "But you would still be here, to teach me!"

"I am no fighter. My wars are won by debate, not by battle. I could give a young queen a sharp tongue with which to cut down her enemies, but a sharp blade would be a waste of my time and talents. You are far too focused on your death, are you sure the planet you hail from is not Saturn?"

She lay back, defeated.

"And if you are finally doing as I tell you, transform back. You were wearing such a lovely dress before; I'd at least like to see it before I die."

"Who runs this kingdom, Ukito?" she demanded as he went to walk out. "You or I?"

He stopped and she could feel his smile even though he didn't look back to her.

"Why, I would think it was obvious, milady."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu was back to taking care of the plants in the queen's room while she read an old book. There was more fighting, as expected, but it was going more smoothly. They were winning their battles with a little more ease each time.<p>

The door cracked open and Ukito walked in with more trays. It was time for lunch, it seemed.

"Nothing fancy, sorry. The kitchen is having a hell of a time keeping the soldiers fed." He sat one tray down on the desk for Hirokazu who ran over at once for his meal, and then sat the other down for the queen. "I see you haven't considered my request."

She didn't look at him, only turned away. He laughed.

"You are like a cat. Should I tell you to do one thing, you do the exact opposite."

He put the tray on her lap and went to take a seat in the overstuffed chair by the fireplace.

"Is this all the food you could muster?" she asked. There was hardly anything there. "Could you not break into the stores?"

"I think milady forgets that we must ration until we win this war. Food does not grow well in this place," Ukito reminded. "The stores can see us through three years of siege, but with the addition of feeding the population, we might not see the end of the month."

"Break into the stores. This war may already be lost." She looked to Hirokazu, who was looking up to her as a parent, and pushed the tray toward him. He eagerly took it and began to eat. "There are still no reports of the Sailor Senshi on the field."

"Ah, but they could be in disguise. The Moon has no qualms about sending men and women to fight, if their strength is proven. Surely, they can fight without use of that magic."

She stared at the fire. "Each has a skill that requires no incantations, that is true. Mars is a priestess, Mercury is a tactical genius, Jupiter is physically powerful, and Venus is beautiful. Those skills are theirs alone and are not the result of the powers given to them from their deceased mothers. Those are their ONLY skills without that power."

"Then Jupiter could be on the field, aided by the others. You see, there is little to worry about."

"You are a smiling fool. You came with me, you know as well as I do what this means. You spent as much time there as I have. If the Queen Serenity has yet to deploy the four, it means she is confident. If there were any indication that she might lose even an inch of rule, that paranoid fool would crush us with the Crystal, without touching foot on our cursed soil."

"The reports say she plans to mount an invasion at the height of power," Ukito reasoned, his smile fading away.

"If she comes, it is a show of power. She thinks us weak, that she can tread our ground and 'purify' us… if it means cleanse the Darkness that permeates this place, or slaughter us all, I do not know." With a groan of pain, she forced herself to stand. Ukito did not object. "Bring the population into the castle. Have the grand ballroom opened as a banquet hall for them. Break into the stores and prepare a feast. We are going to die, Ukito."

He did not even blink at the notion. He only nodded.

"After, aid their escape. I want this castle empty by this time tomorrow. You will take Hirokazu and the population to the surface. When they arrive, I will meet them."

"Should I inform the generals?"

She nodded and moved to the window, looking out over the battlefield. "Yukio should be the first to be informed. Tell him I don't care what he does after the feast. He can join you and his brother and forget I existed, or he can stay and die fighting."

There was no moon to gaze on in this dark place.

"We are going to die, but I will make sure that no one forgets that we died in defiance of those tyrants. Maybe in a thousand years, our descendants will finally win."

* * *

><p>She sat at the head table, Hirokazu seated next to her. Yukio was not present, already fled. It didn't matter to her. This was the endgame. The population seemed excited at the prospect of the feast, unaware of what it was meant for. They mingled around, commenting on how beautiful the ballroom was, many of them had never been important enough to set foot in this place.<p>

The queen sat at the head of the table, while Hirokazu was next to her, dressed like a little prince. The entire setting was very serene, despite the fighting going on outside. Ukito had gone out to give the soldiers the order to fall back to the castle, leaving only the two members of the tiny 'Royal Family'.

"Are we gonna eat now?" Hirokazu asked, looking up at the queen. She made a small motion with her hand.

"In a few moments, Hirokazu. Let the people wander around a few moments. They are enjoying themselves, let's not ruin this for them."

With a nod, he sat straight in his chair, fidgeting with his napkin. He was hungry, but the Lady Earth insisted the people be allowed to look around. After all, this would be the last chance they ever got.

Once the people began to settle down, the queen summoned for the meal to begin. As they began to eat, she only stared out the window, never touching hers. The chatter rolled over her as the bells signaling midday sounded. Ukito wasn't back yet, and that made her wonder. But perhaps he was outside, waiting for the signal. That would be just like him, and the thought made her smile.

Taking a deep breath, she went to stand up and the effort of it made her wince. "Excuse me!" she called out, gathering the attention of the guests. "I have an announcement to make. Once dinner has concluded, I must ask you to-"

At that moment, the ballroom doors burst open and Ukito staggered in.

"M'lady! They are here! Th-"

He suddenly spat a mouthful of blood up and collapsed into it, a blade in his back.

All hell broke loose at that moment. Soldiers of the Moon began to fill the area, led by the Sailor Senshi. The queen drew her blade as the guests shrieked and tried to flee. The enemy soldiers cut down the few who made it to exits.

Trapped.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this?" the queen demanded. "They are civilians!"

"Collateral damage," Sailor Jupiter warned, cracking her knuckles. The small lightning rod had extended from her tiara.

"We are to PROTECT those who are innocent!" She tried standing at her full height and ignored the burning pain that shot up her side as she did. She would not seem weak in this moment.

"You are the Dark Kingdom. There is nothing innocent about any who live here." Sailor Mars watched carefully. Hirokazu went to Ukito at once to try to tend to him, as he had tried with the queen, but he was knocked aside by Sailor Jupiter and hit the wall. There was a crunching noise.

Her sword was out and Sailor Earth rushed them. She didn't see Yukio come in, but he went to his brother at once, looking enraged at what had happened to him. There was nothing that could be done, though, but watch.

The rune carved into the steel of her blade sang in dissonance as she carved the air, missing her targets by inches. She was far from full strength and they were healthy. However, she wasn't trying to hit them, she was trying to force them back from Ukito.

"Ukito!" she cried out, kneeling down next to him. Grunting in pain, she rolled him over onto his back and ran her hand down his face. "Ukito, speak to me! You will not die here, I won't stand for it!"

"Heh… even though you are queen… I believe this is far beyond what your decrees may call for, m'lady." He coughed and blood struck her face. With a frown, he reached a shaky hand up to try to wipe it away, though all he did was to smear it around. "Ah… my apologies. I am afraid… I forget myself in your presence, sister."

"Yukio! Come at once and remove him from the battle!" Lady Earth commanded. She turned to see that he and Hirokazu were blocked from their own escape. "Ukito… please, don't die."

"Death does not care for sentiment… only for payment. Perhaps you are right, in that we will be reborn one day. I will wait for you, in the sun."

She was crying now, unable to cope with the idea that he was leaving her.

"It is a shame… I never saw you… in your dress." His eyes shut, and he exhaled before he stopped moving.

"Ukito..." Earth shook him. "U-Ukito…!"

She began to cry and put her face to his chest. Everyone could see her, but she didn't care in that moment. Her uniform began to shimmer and alter.

"Mommy?" Hirokazu asked, pulling out of his older brother's grasp. Sailor Earth looked up as her back bow lengthened to the ground and her center gem became a heart. She grabbed her blade in her hand and squeezed until it trembled in her grasp. Without warning, she lunged at Sailor Venus who weaved out of her attacks until a misstep caused her to take a blow to the gut.

Earth turned on Jupiter who tried to grab the blade and shock her, but the electricity only ran the course of the blade before she swung it and it arced back. She fell to the ground in pain. Earth then turned to Mars and Mercury, but neither were willing to go against her. They retrieved their comrades and ran out the doors of the castle. The battle was over before it had a chance to begin.

"Lady Earth," Yukio began. He stared down at Ukito's body and swallowed hard. "I… that is to say…"

"Stop talking and make rounds." She never turned to look back at him. "If any guards are still alive, send them in at once."

He wanted to continue on, but something in his gut said don't argue. With a nod, he turned on his heel and left with fast steps. Hirokazu ran to her and wrapped his arms around her leg. She didn't notice it and only knelt down again.

"In the end… it was for nothing," she whispered. "You are gone, and I don't know how to bring you back. I will conquer the Moon, even if it takes me a thousand years. And when I do, I will have my Queen Regent use the Silver Crystal to bring you back."

The guards she sent for rushed in to retrieve the body and she stood up to watch him leave.

"I promise, Ukito. I will not rest until you are avenged."


	4. Chapter 4

There was laughter and cheering coming from the bar as the party continued on. It was a holiday after all. A celebration of the downfall of the Dark Kingdom, centuries ago.

The man at the bar laughed loudly and ordered another round to the delight of the patrons. Every year he showed up for the fun and had become a staple of the place. It was a seedy location, but he didn't care.

As the night began to wind down, the people began to stagger out one by one while he stayed behind to pay his tab.

"See you next year?" the bartender asked as he rang the man up. The man nodded and laughed. He then hiccupped which caused him to laugh even more. "Your change."

The man stuffed it down in the pocket of his suit and turned to walk out of the bar. He was dressed rather well for the area he was in and stuck out like a sore thumb. Many patrons commented over the years that he probably belonged to the Royal Court and was here to piss off Mommy and Daddy for some reason or other. He reached up to loosen his tie and kept walking.

He then slowed down and stopped. There was a woman standing in his path, and she didn't seem happy. He never dropped his smile though. It actually seemed to get bigger.

"Well… good to see you again!" he greeted. A loud hiccup punctuated his sentence and he dissolved into a fit of laughter at it. "We should stop meeting like this, people will talk!"

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Oh, don't be like that! Where's that smile I love?"

"I never smile for _you_," the woman spat.

"Maybe you should. You'd be even prettier!" His compliment seemed to do nothing. Neither seemed inclined to leave before the other, and it made the woman even angrier.

"Why are you here?" she demanded. "Your kind doesn't belong here."

The man laughed, still in good spirits from the alcohol. "Where else am I supposed to get a good drink? It's a celebration! Live a little!"

A ball of flame formed in her hand and she threw it at him. He moved aside, stumbling as he did. She threw another and this one singed his arm. He shouted in pain and held the wound, sobering up quickly. In retaliation, he held his hand out and watched as the dark energy began to surround the woman and smother her. He held her like that for several long moments before allowing her to breathe again. She dropped to her knees and gasped for air as he stood back up and over her.

"That will teach you." With a growl, he kicked her in the gut and watched her crash into the wall before turning to walk off.

"Hey, let's meet again sometime. Maybe next time I can get that kiss out of you!" he taunted. With a pulse of energy, Prince Hirokazu left Sailor Mars in the alley.

* * *

><p>"You are drunk," Yukio warned as his brother walked through the halls of the palace back to his bedchamber. "The queen warned you to not go to the surface without guards. The humans still believe we were defeated, you will ruin her plans!"<p>

It had been a thousand years since the fateful attack that had cost Ukito his life. The Moon had claimed absolute victory and had settled in to punishment against those who had fought against them. Even today, that still rang throughout the people.

"I'm sober enough." Hirokazu pushed the door open and stumbled in, grabbing the chamber pot and proceeding to vomit in it. "Well… _now_ I am."

Yukio grabbed him by the shoulder and took his arm. "You are injured! What happened?"

"Heh… Pyro has pretty good aim, doesn't she?" Hirokazu asked as he sat in the floor. "She showed up at the bar. Don't worry, I'm fine."

Yukio glared at his little brother. "You are burned! If the queen finds out, there will be hell to pay!"

Hirokazu just laughed and went to stand up. "I have plants to treat burns. Mother never has to find out." With a clumsy hand, he went to pull his tie off. "Help me to bed, brother."

Against his better judgment – he would have much rather taken Hirokazu to the queen at once – Yukio pulled his brother into the bed and threw the blanket over him before walking out. He paused at the door for a moment.

"…Sailor Venus wasn't there too, was she?" His brother's snores were his only answer. "Ah… I suppose not."

Frowning, he walked out of the room and shut the door. A guard passed and he stopped him.

"The prince feels ill. He wishes to not be disturbed by any, including the queen."

The guard nodded and stopped his patrol to remain by the door. Yukio walked on and ran a hand down his face.

In the past thousand years, things had gone back to normal. The town was restored as the queen had promised and had even grown. Under the corrupting rule of Metallia, none were to have children. She had even been in the process of warping the population into monsters to fuel her army. Now, there was a massive boom in the population as children were constantly being born.

The decrees of the Moon had driven others to them. Those humans who had supported the Dark Kingdom and fought for their own freedom had been condemned. There were outcastes, allowed only to live in permitted slums and almost all work was forbidden to them. Due to that, most of them had tracked down the entrance to their underground kingdom and had been accepted. So many brilliant minds and skilled workers had come.

Yukio had learned quickly to hide his and his brother's heritage from them. It did not matter that they had thrown every ounce of their loyalty to the Dark Kingdom; Yukio realized that the hatred of the people of the Moon was strong. He and his brother had been unfortunate casualties of the war, brought back from the Moon on accident.

He passed the grand hall without so much as looking in it. Ever since that day, he had avoided this room like the plague. That day he had given the queen his loyalty had cost so much. This was the least he could do.

"Yukio!" He stopped and turned to see the queen walking behind him. "Why is Hirokazu locked in his chamber?"

"He does not feel well. The guards would not escort him to the surface, so he drank himself blind," he said with a straight look on his face. She didn't seem to believe him, but she didn't question it. "The boy is a fool, but I believe he will have punished himself enough come the morning."

The queen stood there for long moments before turning. "You are needed in the War Room. At your leisure, good General."

She walked on and left him there. With a heavy sigh he followed after her. He had long since learned 'At your leisure' meant 'Now'.

'_I was respected… now look at me,_' he thought to himself as he walked into the room as the queen took her seat. He positioned himself across from her and stood. It was their way. His official chair was at her right hand, but they worked better in opposition.

"Our forces are regaining strength. Within the year, we can launch another full-scale operation," the queen explained. "We are ten thousand strong as it stands."

"Yes, a full scale force is just the thing… if you are a fool, that is." Yukio motioned to the estimations on their strength and supplies. "We cannot risk such an endeavor. We do not know how many of the population are loyalists to the Moon up there, nor do we have any idea of the current technologies."

The other generals looked back and forth as the two argued on.

"Then what would you suggest? Do you seek to return to where you came?" the queen demanded.

"What I suggest, My Lady, is subterfuge." Her silence indicated her curiosity. "We send a few soldiers topside and have them integrate to the population. I suggest a hundred, scattered across the more powerful nations."

He motioned to several places and rattled off numbers. "However, as most of their energies are being placed in Japan, I would suggest we make base there. Its technological advances are known from our incoming sources, and those fit to be reborn are doing so here."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the queen sat up straight with a look of hope in her eyes.

"Ukito?"

"Perhaps."

There was no hesitation in her decision. "Do it."

* * *

><p>"Why can't I go?" Hirokazu demanded. He and Yukio were walking down the corridor the next morning. Hirokazu was still nursing a hangover. "It's the surface, brother! Who knows the surface better than me?"<p>

"Because, little brother, you would spend far too much time exploring. That, and the queen would never allow it." Yukio continued to walk on, trying to ignore the incessant whining of his sibling.

When word had gotten out that the queen was sending soldiers topside, Hirokazu had been up at once to beg to be allowed to go with them. The idea of getting to explore the surface was something he just couldn't pass up on.

"You can talk mother in to it! She's practically YOUR mother, too, you know!" Hirokazu reminded.

Yukio rubbed the bridge of his nose in agitation. "Just because you do not remember mother and father does not mean that I do not."

"Whatever, come ON! I'm up there all the time! I even talk like them! Most of the soldiers will be spotted a mile off!" Hirokazu held his burned arm as he ran after his brother. "I can defend myself, I can fight… PLEASE!"

Yukio turned and slapped Hirokazu across the face. "You will speak no further of this!" He loomed over his brother who had staggered back and fell to his butt. "Neither the queen nor myself will allow you to go to the surface unattended! You are still young!"

Hirokazu glared at his brother. "You'd be young, too, if you'd just undergone the reversal like I did!" He held his hand out and watched as the very air around them began to contort against Yukio. The Dark Energy tried to smother him, but Yukio backed away quickly. Several guards rushed to the area and two pulled the prince to his feet.

"The prince forgets himself," Yukio warned. "Please escort him to his chambers. I will send for the queen."

* * *

><p>"You little fool!" the queen shouted for the fifth time. Hirokazu sat on the floor against his bed and kept his head bowed as the queen yelled at him. She paced back and forth and had had to restrain herself three separate times from trying to strike him in her anger.<p>

To his credit, he never trembled or showed fear. He simply kept his head down and let her scream as she pleased.

"Yukio is a General! He is a more experienced fighter than you! If he had been anyone else, you would be a stain on the floor!" She continued to yell at him for several long moments before winding down in her tirade. She inhaled sharply and went to leave the room.

"So… that's a 'maybe'?" he asked against his better judgment.

"You are confined to this wing of the castle!" she roared as she turned around to look at him. "The guards will return you to this room and SEAL IT if you are caught one STEP beyond the corridor!"

She stormed out of the room, and the heavy door crashed shut behind her. He sat there for a long time and stared at the door. Upon deciding she was well and truly gone, he got up and went to his wardrobe. He was going to the surface, it didn't matter to him what anyone else said or thought. He began to stuff clothing into a bag hurriedly. By the end of several long minutes, he had everything he needed and wanted from his room. He then began the long and precise process of climbing from his bedchamber window to the ground below.

They would find he was gone by supper. He had to make one of those transports before then. They would look for him in full force on the surface.

He had money, earned from a brief stint gambling. He could find a place to stay.

Once his feet touched the ground, he took off running. The transport was on the other side of the castle walls. As he rushed forward he caught movement out the corner of his eye and skid to a halt. Several guards were walking towards him. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the trunk of the nearest tree and climbed up it as quickly as he could. The guards would move past him, and…

They weren't moving past him.

They stopped beneath the tree and began talking.

Hirokazu realized in that moment that they were on break and he didn't know if they knew he was supposed to be confined or not. If they didn't leave soon, he would miss his only chance to get to the surface.

'_Damn!_'

* * *

><p>Yukio walked the corridor several times and knocked once more on his brother's door.<p>

"Brother, answer me!" he demanded. There was still no answer. Was Hirokazu truly that upset at the prospect of not being allowed on the mission? The little fool didn't understand, then. If he was captured by the Moon, then he would be used as a bargaining chip against the queen. She would give up anything to get him back, and even then, that was no guarantee that the prince would be returned alive.

The guards stood alongside the door and said nothing as the General tried to make the prince speak to him. It was a family matter and they would not intrude on it.

"Brother, if you do not open this door, I will break it down!" Yukio roared. There was still silence, and Yukio was getting very worried. It wasn't like his brother to be this quiet for this long. He pushed and pulled at the door to try and force it to open before slamming his entire weight against it.

General Yukio stood at six feet tall and was entirely muscle. He hit the door three times before it gave way and dumped him in the empty room.

He looked around frantically and the sight of the overturned room filled him with dread. The guards looked in and when they saw that the prince was not in there they sent an alarm throughout the castle in fear that he'd been taken.

It was then that Yukio noticed exactly what all was missing from the room. Clothing, books, money…

"That little _bastard_," he growled. He went to the window and looked out towards the grounds. His brother's footprints gave his intentions away.

"Prince Hirokazu has escaped the castle! FIND HIM!"

* * *

><p>The guards below the tree heard the alarm and went running back inside. Hirokazu should have been happy over it, but he realized it meant he was found out.<p>

He landed on the ground with a grunt and took off running again for the transport. He had seconds to get through one of the portals before they found him.

As he ran, he held a small, black crystal out that began to siphon energy out of the very air around him. He would need it on the surface. The warp came in view and he realized only three were still active. The warp for England had already closed, and that was the one he was counting on. He cursed and skid to a halt. He didn't know where the remaining ones would deposit him.

"This way!" came a voice. He recognized his brother's angry tone and gulped. Tightening his grip on his bag, he ran through the warp closest to the voices and closed his eyes as he went through. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for the severe disorientation that assaulted him the moment he crossed the threshold and blacked out.


	5. Chapter 5

General Yukio knelt before the queen and was _trembling_. He, one of the most powerful of the generals, was cowering before her like a child. The look on her face was a terrible calm – you could sense her pure anger and rage as it evaporated off her body. He had knelt like that for five minutes in silence as neither spoke.

With a gulp, he opened his mouth. "My lady, I—"

"I did not give you permission to speak, general."

He fell silent again in an instant and stared at his reflection in the floor. He was not at fault for his brother's escape, they both knew that, but the queen was enraged that he was gone and had demanded Yukio do something about it. He was at a loss, though, as he had no idea where his brother could have gone. The warps had closed down shortly after the alarm had been sounded, so it was entirely possible that he was still in the Dark Kingdom.

"Hirokazu is gone," she stated. "He left his room against my orders and may very well be in danger of capture. Is this correct, general?"

"Yes, my lady."

They fell back in to an uncomfortable silence. No one else was in the throne room with them, but he still felt as though everyone could see his terror. The queen was cold and mechanical when enraged, and he truly feared what she was capable of in this state.

To his surprise, she sighed and leaned back. "Continue with the invasion plan."

For the first time since he knelt, he looked up at her. He was stunned and a cold tendril of anger began to creep its way in. "My lady, what of my brother?" Did she plan to ignore him and the danger he was in?

"Inform all who are to be deployed, and those who have already left, that Prince Hirokazu takes priority over all else. Any who see him are to take him into custody and return him at once. That order takes precedence over all else. Even if they have a chance to kill the Queen of Light herself. Am I understood?"

The anger faded and Yukio smiled in relief. "Yes, my lady. At once."

"You are dismissed."

* * *

><p>Groaning, Hirokazu sat up and rubbed his head. It ached horribly where he'd hit it on the ground. He wasn't sure what knocked him out, but he figured that it had something to do with the Black Crystal he held in his hand. Putting it in his pocket, he got up and limped out of the alley.<p>

The signs on the street were brightly lit and screamed at him and people were wandering by without paying much attention to him. He walked over to a newsstand and glanced at the top paper to get her bearings.

He was in Tokyo, Japan.

'_Damn!_'

Japan was to be the location of the main base. It would be crawling with soldiers looking for him. He didn't have enough money to leave the country, either. Not at the moment, at least. He could go back to gambling for a fast source of income, but he didn't know the laws in Japan. That could get him arrested faster than anything.

He turned and walked down the street, loosening his tie as he did. Most people who saw him thought that he had just had a bad day at the office. It was getting dark and he would need a place to stay for the night. The next morning, he would need to find an apartment.

"I could easily just go in and get one with this," he mused as he put his hand in his pocket. This was to be his protection, though. Just in case of the event that he ran into his greatest danger. A Sailor Senshi.

He could barely hold his own against his brother. He had bested Sailor Mars on pure luck, he wasn't willing to test his luck a second time.

Groaning, he found a small motel and walked inside.

"Excuse me," he called out in his shaky Japanese. He hit the small bell. "I'd like a room for the night, please."

He looked around for a short while until he heard a voice yelp. Turning back around, he watched a young girl come out of the back room.

"S-sorry! I'm so sorry!" she shouted as she hurriedly bowed. "I fell asleep! You need a room?"

Hirokazu nodded and looked back outside. "Yeah. I'm… vacationing, and my last place sort of gave my room away."

The girl seemed horrified at the idea and she leaned across the counter. "Are you part of the lower caste?" she whispered.

Hirokazu turned back to her and blinked. "Uh…?"

"It's okay if you are! My family is, too. Our ancestors were in support of Elysion in the war," she explained. This revelation had the prince curious.

"…Elysion?" He wasn't allowed to use that name, after the queen had decreed themselves the Dark Kingdom. The girl couldn't have been lying, because that was now the code name for his home, only those who truly supported their efforts would use the ancient name.

"We barely make enough from the rooms to stay in business. Oh! I'm being rude! You need a room for the night, and I'm just talking!" She scrambled through her things while Hirokazu tried to assure her that he didn't think she was being rude.

"No, no, it's okay! I'm not tired yet, we can talk!"

"Here's your key, sir!" She handed it to him and smiled as he took it. "Actually, since you're also in the lower caste, and your hotel kicked you out, I can let you stay free of charge."

That was the first good news he'd gotten all day. He smiled and nodded, checking his room number. He was on the bottom floor, not far from the lobby.

"Stay as long as you need to, we understand how difficult it is to find housing and jobs in this situation. Oh, I need your name for the record book, please."

"My name is Hirokazu."

* * *

><p>It had been five days since he moved in to the small motel room. It had the one room and a bathroom, and no kitchen. He was stuck having to eat out every night, and went to gambling to keep his money stores up. The first thing he had done after he had gotten some more cash was buy a rose bush.<p>

"Miyu!" he called out. "Is it okay if I keep some plants in the room?"

The girl from the front desk, Kodama Miyu, looked up to see his grinning face holding the small plant. She seemed unsure, but Hirokazu's smile was just something she couldn't destroy.

"Sure." She blinked as he ran off to put it in his room.

He hadn't been able to tend his plants in so long, he was worried about them. However, everyone knew what they meant to him. Surely someone would take pity and water the poor things.

He was setting it near the window sill when there was a knock on his door.

"Are you decent?" Miyu asked. He opened the door up for her and invited her in.

"Hey, Miyu, what's up?" he asked as she walked inside and looked around. He kept his room neat and tidy from the looks of it. Nothing was out of place and it almost was as if he hadn't even used anything. Hirokazu pulled a chair out for her to sit in. "Have a seat, my lady."

His treatment of her made her blush and smile. She wasn't used to someone being such a gentleman for her, coming from the lower caste.

"Thank you. Um, listen, there's a… a thing. A problem." She inhaled. "The man who owns the building is increasing our rent, and I'm going to have to start charging you for your stay."

She seemed incredibly distressed at the notion and braced herself for Hirokazu to launch into a tirade against her. He just tilted his head.

"Why's he increasing it?" He crossed his arms as he tried to figure it out.

"He's in the higher caste, and he wants to let a friend of his run the place. But, he can't just kick us out because of a contract. It can be terminated through non-payment, though, and we're barely making it as it is."

Hirokazu nodded. "Okay. Don't worry about it, Miyu. I'll see what I can do about the money." He walked over to the nightstand and opened it up, tossing a small roll of paper money to her. She caught it, after nearly dropping it a few times.

"Oh, th-this is far too much! It's beyond our normal rate!" she insisted, trying to hand it back to him.

"No, keep it. I'll be fine."

He walked her to the door and shut it behind her, sliding the lock in position. He reached in his pocket and grabbed the Black Crystal.

'_Let's see just what I can do…_'

* * *

><p>General Yukio walked through the main base that was situated in an abandoned warehouse in the Chiba Area, just outside of Tokyo. Due to the class restrictions, they had to move base. He was here to give the instructions to the troops regarding his younger brother.<p>

Each person he walked past stopped to acknowledge him. Many of them had directly dealt with their refugees and understood the importance of their work. Yukio nodded to each of them and made his way to the main room. Once he stepped inside, the commander stood up to salute him.

"Orders from the queen." He dropped the paper on the desk and spoke as the commander read. "Prince Hirokazu was to be confined to his bed chamber under orders from the queen. The little bastard managed to give us the slip and has made it to the surface. He is either in Japan or America. We've already searched China."

The commander kept reading on.

"Continue with the mission as planned, but Prince Hirokazu takes priority. Any soldier who spots him is to take him in to custody at once, no matter the cost to the mission."

The commander just read on, growing pale as he did so.

"Do you understand?" Yukio asked.

"G-General Yukio… I-I apologize. I-If I had known…"

Yukio looked at the man who was trembling. "What?"

"I had no idea… I thought he was part of the mission."

This had Yukio's attention at its fullest, and he rounded on the commander, grabbing his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"Your brother. I have seen him. He is somewhere in Tokyo."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu made his way to the high end of the city, charming his way past security check points. His royal upbringing paid off as he easily passed for one of the higher caste. The man who owned the motel lived somewhere in this neighborhood, and he wanted to have a few words with him.<p>

Trying to force those nice people out of their contract just so his buddy could make some cash… it was terrible. Hirokazu wasn't going to stand for that. The queen used to tell him stories when he was small about brave princes who saved people from dragons and witches… well, he was sure he could pretend this asshole was a giant lizard for five minutes.

He found the house thanks to a woman who was out walking her dog and went to the front gate. It wasn't very large, only average sized. He ran the bell and waited.

"_May I help you?_" a bored voice asked through an intercom.

"Hi, I need to speak to the owner of this little shitty motel in downtown Tokyo. A… Sonoda Michiya-san?" He looked at his papers again to make sure he'd gotten the name right. "Yeah, I need to speak with him."

There was a pause before the gate clicked and swung open. He made his way up the path, looking around at the nice gardens and the few trees on the property. Some of the architecture looked like it was from the Moon. As he made it to the door, it was opened for him, and the man he'd spoken to over the intercom escorted him through the house to a home office. He was left there, and the doors were closed behind them.

"Good afternoon, sir," Michiya said. "You're here to discuss my motel?"

Hirokazu checked the door and found it to be heavy enough. He then turned around. The man was human, probably in his late thirties. Hirokazu was Lunarian and appeared to be in his early twenties.

"Yeah. You're forcing Miyu's family out of there, and it makes you an asshole." Hirokazu had a good knowledge of the times for this century, due to extensive sneaking out of the castle. He was now grateful for it, because the look on Michiya's face was PRICELESS. He turned a very grotesque shade of purple.

"Son, I suggest you leave now, before I call the authorities!" Michiya said as he stood up. He was a few inches shorter than Hirokazu, and probably a good twenty kilos lighter. The man was a stick. Hirokazu refused to budge.

"Shut up." He thrust the palm of his hand out, and the burst of Dark Energy forced the man back into his chair. "You're in a position of power, Sonoda-san. You don't use that power to bully the people under you."

He thrust his hand out again, and another wave just knocked the wind from Michiya's lungs.

"That's not how I was raised. You are KIND-" another burst "to those under you. You HELP-" another burst "those under you."

A final burst forced the chair back into the wall. "Do you understand me?"

Michiya gulped air down to breathe again and staggered to his feet. He tried to run past the angry prince, but Hirokazu grabbed him and threw him back down. "You're being rude. You didn't answer my question."

Hirokazu kicked Michiya in the ribs three times, each blow harder than the last. "Stop crying. You're in the higher caste. Isn't it true they fix these things for free for you freeloaders?"

He reached down and grabbed the man by the shirt collar to lift him up. He pulled the Black Crystal out and held it to the man's face. "Now, then, you're going to drop all this _crap_ about kicking Miyu and her family out of that motel. You're going to _lower_ their rates. Because if you don't, I will find you again and I will make your life hell. Understood?"

Michiya coughed and nodded through the pain and tears. Satisfied, Hirokazu dropped him to the ground and went to the window, climbing out of it and getting into a tree. He was quite proud of himself for helping Miyu like this, but his mini celebration was cut short.

Walking along the street was his brother, Yukio.

'_DAMN!_'


	6. Chapter 6

Hirokazu stayed as still as he could in the tree as his brother walked up to the gate of the house and stared. He was in full view, if Yukio decided to look at the tree, he'd be seen!

'_Damn, damn, damn, DAMN, DAMN!_'

He stayed as still as he could manage and held his breath. Yukio wasn't moving, he just seemed very curious about the house. Hirokazu's eyes went wide at the realization.

Yukio had sensed the Dark Energy that Hirokazu had used. He was tracking him with it! Hirokazu grabbed the crystal in his pocket and cursed himself. If he was caught now, he was going to be in so much trouble. For running away and for kicking the shit out of Michiya. Sonoda-san wouldn't remember who had beaten the crap out of him, but Yukio would know it was Hirokazu.

Yukio forced the gate open and began to walk into the yard, and Hirokazu tried to time it just right. Right as the gate made a horrible screeching noise, he jumped to the ground over the wall. He didn't count on the hard landing, though, and cursed as he hit. Yukio ran out of the yard and rounded the corner, seeing him there.

They stared at each other for several long, long moments before Hirokazu got to his feet and took off running. Yukio took after him.

"DAMN!"

He skid around a corner and came to a wall, managing to make it up it with a little effort. Yukio jumped to grab him, but missed by a centimeter. Hirokazu kept going and landed on the other side and took off again, rounding yet another corner just before Yukio made it to the top of the wall.

"Brother, come back here!" Yukio was enraged as he continued after Hirokazu. Hirokazu, however, rounded another corner and climbed a garden wall, dropping on the other side just before his brother came around. He steadied his breathing and listened to his brother's footsteps recede before finally relaxing. Now, he needed to get back to the motel. He wanted to be there to see the look on little Miyu's face when she found out that she wouldn't get kicked out.

"Oh, are you hiding, too?" a soft voice asked.

"Kind of." Hirokazu blinked and straightened before turning around to see who had spoken to him.

The girl looked to be close to his age and was smiling sweetly at him as though it were simply humorous to meet him there. He felt nothing but peace and calmness from this girl, but that wasn't what had him terrified about the situation.

"I am hiding as well. It can be very boring at these events." The happy, calm girl speaking to him was none other than Princess Serenity.

'DAMN!'

* * *

><p>Yukio wandered through the neighborhood. His brother hadn't used any more magic. In all likelihood, he was lying low and waiting for him to wander off. On the other hand, he had run off. Yukio would keep looking until he was sure where his brother had gone off to.<p>

He wandered the streets for several minutes, looking around and trying to see if he felt Dark Energy in use. There was nothing.

Grumbling to himself, he turned and went back to where he'd last lost his brother to try and see if he was being stupid and hanging around. He was known to flirt with pretty girls, so he could have found one. He couldn't report to the queen and tell her he'd found the prince and then lost track of him. That would just get his head cut off, and his previous mistake had almost led to that.

There weren't many people out on the streets, but he was keeping himself as obscured as he could. In his general uniform, it was entirely possible to be recognized as being from the Dark Kingdom. He heard laughter and thought he felt faint traces of Dark Energy in the air. He looked to the very large house that it was coming from.

Could Hirokazu be in there, hiding? He could certainly charm his way anywhere he wanted to go, and he would fit right in with the higher caste. His blonde hair would give everyone reason to believe him to be from the Moon.

However, he froze and crouched down by a shrub. Someone about the woman who just walked inside caused him to panic. He recognized that uniform she wore.

Sailor Mercury.

"Shit." He kept watching and was now certain he felt Dark Magic. It was very faint, fortunately, and unless they specifically searched for it, no one would even notice it. It kept fading as the minutes passed and would soon be gone. He had to get in there, somehow, and find his brother.

"Hirokazu, you little bastard…"

* * *

><p>"Uh…"<p>

The prince was at a loss for words. He had only heard stories of the people of the Moon, he had never met one face-to-face before. Princess Serenity just kept smiling at him.

"What is your name?" She tilted her head to indicate her genuine curiosity, and he swallowed hard.

"Hiro." He was terrified that she would recognize him if she had his real name. Now he really had to get out of here. If Sailor Mars was here, she'd know him in a heartbeat. None of the other Sailor Senshi recognized him, but if the princess was here, those four would be around close by.

Was this a trap?

"It is very nice to meet you, Hiro. I am Princess Serenity."

She was very cute, and under different circumstances, he would have loved to sit and talk with her. However, he got back up and looked towards the exits. Sailor Jupiter at one, Sailor Venus at the other. He'd have to either climb over the wall, or go through the house.

He was hidden from their view by the rose bushes, so he had time to plan.

"Such parties are very boring," she lamented. "I would much rather be with Endymion. However, he was unable to attend."

"Oh. Uh, why is that?" he wondered.

"Well, I am to not speak of such matters with humans."

Hirokazu nodded and looked around again. Venus had moved away from her post to greet someone and was moving inside the house. A standard guard was taking her place, and he recognized him as being one of the Dark Kingdom soldiers. He must have been part of the mission.

'_Damn._'

"Oh, but I don't see the harm in it," she continued. She clearly was happy to have someone to listen to her and smiled. "Endymion is in a meeting. They plan a massive invasion to reclaim the lands of Elysion."

To his credit, Hirokazu kept the shock from forming on his face as he turned to look at the princess. "Elysion?"

She nodded. "Yes. The lands are still tainted from the days of the war. He believes that he can cleanse them and restore his home."

'_The lands are NOT tainted! WE are not the evil ones, YOU ARE!_'

It took a tremendous deal of sheer will-power for Hirokazu to not scream at Princess Serenity, or even strike her. He had been raised that a woman was to be treated with kindness and respect, no matter their position or views, but this was one of his most trying moments. He clenched his hand until his arm shook and stood up quickly.

The princess did not seem to notice his reaction. She stood when he did and took his arm. "Would you walk with me for the while? I am in need of an escort, after all."

Hirokazu pulled his arm away, but she took it back.

"All will be well."

"Be that as it may, princess, I am needed elsewhere." Hirokazu wanted to vomit a little in his mouth. He hated the 'Prince Voice'. He just wanted to get back to the motel.

She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Well, shall you escort me to the exit?"

He felt his heart soar at the suggestion. The guard wouldn't do anything if Princess Serenity was with him. With a nod, he began to walk towards the main exit that the spy was stationed at. The man froze up at the sight of Prince Hirokazu with Princess Serenity and the indecisiveness was clearly written on his face. He didn't know what to do.

Hirokazu was ready to let Serenity go and take off when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The spy had decided to do something about seeing him, and he had to think fast.

'_Well, damn._'

* * *

><p>Yukio stayed near the bushes and cursed under his breath. The feeling of Dark Magic had completely faded, and if his brother took off now, there was no tracking him. His brother wasn't stupid, by now he had to know how he had been found.<p>

The only positive in this entire mess was that now if someone saw him, they would feel no Dark Magic, even if they TRIED. Now, all the general had to do was figure out how to tell this to the queen.

'_She'll have my head._' The Lady Earth would be furious to hear that the prince had made his way to a gathering of high-ranking officials from the Queen of Light's court. '_I might as well just tell her what I did, she might be LESS furious._'

Groaning, he shifted his position and held his breath again as Sailor Mars walked out of the house for a moment. She said something to one of the guards and left. With her departure, Hirokazu's fears would be alleviated. Only Sailor Mars knew him on sight.

'_Well, that is good. Now, to retrieve Hirokazu._'

As he thought up a way to get in there and get his brother with as little collateral damage as possible, he heard a female voice scream.

'_Now what?!_'

* * *

><p>Everyone had stopped and stared. The poor spy had a look of pure betrayal on his face.<p>

"He is with the Dark Kingdom!" Hirokazu shouted again, pointing at him.

Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter came running out of the house, while Hirokazu led Princess Serenity to 'safety'. The spy took off running out of the main gate, and chaos erupted throughout the guests.

"Stay here, princess, you will be safe." Hirokazu overturned a table and kept her behind it. He got up as though to chase the man, but Serenity kept a firm grip on him. He wasn't able to move.

"No, stay!" she shouted. He wanted to leave, but she refused to let him. With great reluctance, he knelt down next to her. The honest terror she was feeling brought up the gentleman in him. He pulled his jacket off and put it around her shoulders.

"The Dark Kingdom… that man was a spy?" she wondered. Hirokazu nodded and hoped with great sincerity that he had gotten to safety. "He… he looked nothing like a person of the Dark Kingdom!"

Hirokazu stared at her. "…and I must ask, if I may, just what does a citizen of the Dark Kingdom look like?"

Not catching his odd question for what it was – why would he ask that with such confusion and be so certain of the spy's status – she sniffled. "Monsters. They are monsters! With fangs, and claws, and eyes that glow red and can take ones soul!"

"The people of the Dark Kingdom have not been monsters for a thousand years, my lady," he corrected. If she was going to spread fear about his people, she would have the right information to base her lies off of! "The so-called 'Queen of Darkness' cast out Metallia shortly after the end of the war, and reverted the people back into humans."

That idea seemed to stun the princess. "They are… humans?" Hirokazu nodded. "But… my mother has told me they are monsters who will devour us all."

"Perhaps… your mother is misinformed?" He couldn't think of a way to sugar-coat his distaste for the Queen Serenity. He found the princess annoying, but it occurred to him that she could have her mind changed.

For a brief moment, he considered kidnapping her. However, he was a prince. Princes were kind. They slayed dragons and they protected innocent people. They saved princesses.

While she sat there, processing all she'd just been told, Hirokazu got up and ran off. It was his only shot at escape, and he took it. He shoved his way past several guests who were heading inside and made it through the gate. Freedom was his! All he had to do now was head back to the motel, and-

Yukio grabbed him in a headlock and held him in place.

"DAMN!"

Hirokazu struggled against his brother and tried to break free.

"Where are you going, little brother?" Yukio sneered. Hirokazu coughed out some response, but Yukio tightened his grip. "I believe it is time you return home."

"H-hey, I bruise easily!" Hirokazu shouted. He twisted his body around and elbowed Yukio away. He then cursed loudly and held his elbow. Hitting his brother was like hitting a wall. He only got free due to having caught him off balance.

"You nearly cost our spy his life, Hirokazu." Yukio spat and stood up to his full height of just over six feet. "What can you possibly say in your defense before I give to you what you deserve?"

"W-well, the Princess Serenity seems shaken up that we are human and not vicious monsters," the prince responded as he got back to his feet. He was ready to bolt at a moment's notice, but if he tried to run now, his brother would simply catch him. He had to wait and time it just right. "Honestly, she seems to be the kind who can have her opinion changed. Mother should be informed. We will want the young princess on the throne, rather than the Queen of Light."

Yukio seemed very impressed at this information. With one slip of the tongue, one revelation, he had gotten more valuable information than Yukio could have dared hoped for. The Princess and the Queen had separate guards, and they were handpicked by the Queen, they could have never gotten one of their own in that circle.

However, his face became stern again as he swiped his hand out to grab his brother. Hirokazu jumped away and kept his eyes trained on his brother.

The sound of footsteps came their way, and Hirokazu seemed… sad. "I'm sorry, brother."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just… know that I mean you no ill intentions."

Yukio was confused, and it showed on his face. Before he could turn to see who all had arrived, Hirokazu pointed at his brother.

"Stay away from me, you of the Dark Kingdom!" Yukio's eyes went wide and he turned to see Sailor Venus standing there, ready to fight. Hirokazu took off at once, and was gone.

"That little BASTARD!"

In that single move, Hirokazu had vindicated himself and condemned his brother. Of all the Sailor Senshi, why did it have to be Sailor Venus? Yukio felt his face go red when he saw her, and he backed away.

She, however, was quick to attack. "Rolling Heart Vibration!"

The projectile flew at him and he turned quickly to let it pass him. His eyes went wide as she followed up with the chain around her waist. It shot through the air and wrapped around him tight. She yanked and he fell forward. His face remained red when he looked up and realized he could see up her skirt. Being the gentleman he was, he looked away.

"You look away because you understand you are unworthy?" she taunted.

"No." He kept staring off at a rock in the distance. "Though I have always been curious as to if what you concealed under that skirt was white, like the rest of your bodysuit."

When she understood what he had just said, her face also went red and she grabbed her skirt and pulled it down. Her loss of concentration caused the Love Chain to fade away and free him.

"WHAT KIND OF PERVERT ARE YOU, TO LOOK?!" she screamed.

Yukio was back on his feet. "You are the one who showed me!" he screamed back, clearly just as embarrassed as she was.

They stared at one another for the longest time, before Venus ran off. It seemed her pride was a little more important to her than capturing one of the top generals of the Dark Kingdom.

Yukio took off, as well. He had lost his brother, and he was now enraged.

"I am going to KILL you when I find you, Hirokazu!"

* * *

><p>Hirokazu made it back to the motel as the sun began to set. His first instinct was to go into his room and relax, but he saw Miyu sitting at the main desk doing her homework, and he just had to go see if she'd gotten the good news yet.<p>

He walked through the door to the lobby and glanced around. She called out her greeting and looked up.

"Oh! Hirokazu!" She stood up and the look on her face was pure enthusiasm. "I was hoping to see you before the end of my shift! You won't believe what happened!"

He couldn't help but smile. "What? What happened?" He tried to match the same excitement in his voice, but it was difficult.

"The owner called us! He's not increasing our rates!" She had tears of happiness in her eyes, and Hirokazu just now realized she'd been crying earlier. "I can't believe it! Mom said we have an angel watching over us."

He kept smiling and nodded.

"We can keep allowing you to stay for free. You don't take up much space, and you keep your room very organized so it doesn't cost us resources… oh! Here!"

Miyu pulled out the money he had given her earlier and tried to hand it back to him. Hirokazu shook his head.

"No, no. Keep it. You can get what you need for school with it. I'm okay, Miyu, honestly. Ten thousand yen isn't a bother to me." He laughed and turned to the door. "I've had a long day. I'm just going to go to sleep. I'm glad it worked out for your family."

With that, he left to his room and closed the curtains. He remembered the crystal in his pocket and pulled it out.

"I can't use this anymore. Yukio will be looking for it." He looked around for a suitable hiding place and found one in the rose bush. He stuck it in the potting soil and covered it up. "There. It's safe."

He fell back in his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I think I can do this 'hero' thing… Yukio is spying, maybe I can rally the people. I know mother wouldn't like it… but, maybe if I can find Ukito and bring him home, she won't scream anymore."

Hirokazu smiled and fell asleep with his new plan dancing in his head.


	7. Chapter 7

Hirokazu was walking down the street, carrying a shopping bag with him. It had been three weeks since the party, and though he'd seen several Dark Kingdom soldiers wandering around, he kept clear of them.

He wasn't going home. Not yet, anyway. He would miss the castle, but he had a mission that he had given himself. He would help the lower caste. They had been their supporters, after all. His people owed them this much. Everywhere there was oppression as the lower caste found themselves without reliable jobs or homes, and being charged too much for not enough.

He had just finished a food run, bringing supplies to a low-income neighborhood and was on his way back to the motel to help Miyu when he saw a young woman standing on the sidewalk, staring at one of the buildings. Normally, he would have moved on and ignored it, but something didn't feel right about it.

She stared at it as though wondering what it was. Hirokazu stopped next to her. "It's a Laundromat."

The woman turned to look at him, and then back to it. She had the same bright, blonde hair that his brother would have if it weren't for the fact that Yukio dyed it. Was she from the Moon?

"You, uh… bring your clothes here to clean them?" She looked back at the building before turning to walk away. Confused, he watched her retreating form and shook his head. "That wasn't weird at all…"

He continued on his way, not realizing that he was being watched.

* * *

><p>"We have yet to find him, my lady." Yukio was down on one knee before the Lady Earth. He had come in during open court to deliver his report to her, which made him very uncomfortable. He felt as if the entire kingdom would hear of his failures if even a single other soul was in the room with them as he spoke. "I am terribly sorry to say that my brother eluded me."<p>

"I was told that my son was seen… mingling among emissaries from the Moon," the queen pointed out. Yukio cringed.

"Ah… y-yes, my lady. In my effort to restrain him, he must have climbed a garden wall. He escaped, with little attention drawn to him." He grit his teeth in preparation for the queen to become outraged. To his surprise, however, she only sighed.

"So long as he is safe before his return… that is all I can ask for." She slumped back in the throne. "Have you any other news to report, general?"

Yukio relaxed his jaw and nodded. "Yes. Though my sources are unable to confirm the theories of reincarnation, my brother has obtained valuable news. It seems that in his mad dash to escape, when he ousted our spy as cover for himself, it startled the Princess Serenity. She was shocked to learn that we people of the Dark Kingdom are not vicious monsters."

This caught the queen's attention.

"The princess is our key. She has not been corrupted as we originally thought. If she were to ascend the throne in such a state, we could gain our goals and ambitions."

"She must ascend on our terms, then. Redouble the efforts in the kingdom, the marriage between prince and princess is stalled so long as we control the lands. I shall have the heads of whosoever allows them to gain even an inch of footing here."

Yukio nodded and made to stand and leave, when another thought crossed his mind. "Ah. One final bit of news. It seems that the sister returns."

The Lady Earth's eyes went wide and she stood, startling the others in the court. "General Yukio, you had best be certain of this!"

"Unfortunately, I am. Her clan has been seen in the recent days. We cannot ascertain her reasoning for return after her banishment; however we can neither call her an ally nor an enemy. If the rumors about you and she are true—"

"Our troops are to avoid them at all costs, do you understand me? Find Hirokazu before they do! …and find the princess."

Her sudden change of mood caught Yukio's attention. "My lady?"

"Find them both and bring them here! We will keep them both from harm."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu was lying in bed, snoring loudly when he heard the banging on his door. He jumped up with a start and looked around in the darkness. Another series of bangs caused him to reach over and turn the light on the nightstand on. Who the hell was it? Miyu would knock once or twice and would let herself in.<p>

The banging continued and he heard the sound of feet shuffling. It sounded like two people, and he wondered if he was being arrested for his gambling. He looked out through the peephole and could make out blonde hair. His heart jumped into his throat. The only people he'd ever met with blonde hair came from the Moon.

More pounding on the door brought him back to reality and he tried to swallow despite the fact that his mouth had just gone dry as sand.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, hold on." He unlocked the door and pulled it open as the person tried to bang on it again, sending him stumbling in the room. Hirokazu backed off to let him fall but quickly saw the man was bleeding profusely from the gut. He caught him moments before he could hit the floor and carefully laid him down.

"I'm gonna call for help, keep pressure on this!" he instructed to the other, unseen figure. He heard shuffling as he turned and grabbed the landline. "Miyu, I need your first aid kit! Yeah, yeah, the scary guy."

He hung up and went back over. "Don't go to sleep," he warned. He pushed the other hands away and pressed down hard. He'd grown up during the worst part of the war; he'd seen his brother keep people alive when they'd gotten worse injuries. He'd also seen his brother grieve when the person died, despite the best efforts. He didn't want to experience that.

He grimaced at the sticky blood. "Hey, bathroom's through that door, you can wash your hands in there." He motioned with his head and the other figure retreated in as Miyu ran inside with the kit. She blanched at the sight of the blood but straightened up long enough to begin work. The man's friend walked out of the bathroom to watch.

"Sit up, pal." Hirokazu pulled the man into a sitting position as Miyu wound the bandages around him. Once she finished, she got up and grabbed a pillow for him. "Okay, call an ambulance for him, if we get him to the—"

"No, you cannot call them! We were being followed!" a soft voice cried out. Hirokazu straightened as he recognized it and turned around as Miyu's eyes went wide.

"O-oh my goodness! You… you are—"

"Princess Serenity."

* * *

><p>The remains of the transport smoldered as the flames tried to die out. Bodies were strewn about and Yukio walked among it all, trying to guess what had happened.<p>

"This was a royal transport." The inside of the vehicle was rather luxurious in comparison to the bland exterior. Three bodyguards were accounted for. There should have been four guards to the princess. None of them were Sailor Senshi, as far as he could tell. Either this had been a decoy, or he wasn't sure WHAT the queen was thinking, sending the princess with four castle guards.

Could the Senshi have simply been in another transport? He looked around, but saw no indication of one. He knelt down and forced his weight against the overturned vehicle, lifting it only enough to open the door all the way. He panted from the sheer force it had taken. No internal damage. Whatever had hit the vehicle, the princess hadn't been in it when it was struck. They must have run for it.

No blood trail, though.

"Fuck. Where could she have gone?" The Lady Earth would not like this. He was to bring the princess to safety. They were many things, but cruel was not one of them. If the Princess Serenity required aid, they would offer it and release her. It simply would not be honorable to capture even an enemy in their time of need. They were not the Moon, this was not their way.

He turned to leave and send his people out to locate the princess, when he saw a familiar figure.

"Sailor Venus." He turned red at the sight of her and looked away. He was in love with her, but he refused to show it, or even acknowledge it. "I can guess your reason for being here."

"Rolling Heart Vibration!" Yukio was caught off guard and slammed into the wall behind him as it roared into his chest. "What have you done to the princess?!"

He coughed and tried to get back on his feet. "I… have done nothing," he gasped. "Your transport… was as such when I arrived." He barely moved in time to miss another attack.

"You have just brought full war upon yourselves!" Venus unhooked the chain around her waist and swung it at him. He ducked quickly. "WHERE IS THE PRINCESS?!"

"We do not have her! I found the transport just as you!" He grabbed a chunk of asphalt that had been ripped up and threw it at the warrior of Love. She was struck and fell back but Yukio felt someone grab him from behind. He screamed in pain as he was violently shocked and fell to the ground. Sailor Jupiter stood over him, frowning. "I c-came to find her… my lady fears for her safety."

He screamed again and curled in on himself as he felt a violent kick crack a rib.

"You lie! What would your kind have to gain from the safety of the princess?" Jupiter demanded.

"She took the same oath as you four! B-but she defected your rule before the second." He groaned and tried to get up.

Jupiter stepped back to let him up and shot a worrying look to Venus. "She is dead."

"Who are you trying to convince, princess Jupiter? You or I?"

* * *

><p>Miyu had left the room to retrieve clothes for the shaken princess, while her injured guard rested in the next room over. Serenity sat on the disheveled bed, clearly disturbed by the events of the day.<p>

Hirokazu had put clothes on in the privacy of the bathroom while his heart pounded terror in his chest. Why was the princess here? Why did she pick his specific room? He hadn't felt a disturbance, so whatever had happened, she had to have come a very long way to find him. If she found out who he was, what would happen to him? Would he be killed, like Ukito?

Walking out to see her, she looked up and smiled in relief.

"I am glad you answered your door. I had feared I picked the wrong one." She stood up in a gesture of manners.

He nodded and took a seat in the little chair in the corner of the room. She sat as he did. "I, uh… heh, for the life of me, princess, I can't begin to guess why you're here."

She clasped her hands and looked to the muted carpet. "I was attacked. By rebels."

"The Dark Kingdom?"

The idea sent a chill down his spine. Had his mother become foolish and risked destruction in an attack? The look on his face was one of unknowing and terror.

He sighed in relief as she shook her head. "Oh. Oh, thank god."

"No, it was the Black Moon Family."

He paused in his laugh of relief as she continued to speak. Miyu came back in at that time with the clothes. He took them from the girl and thanked her.

"Miyu-chan, just go back to the office. Don't tell anyone I'm in today, and don't mention the princess, okay?" She was still pale as she nodded and left. Hirokazu turned to offer the clothes to Serenity. "You can change in the bathroom."

The princess nodded and went to do so. As soon as the door was closed, he dug through his rose bush and pulled the crystal filled with dark energy out and pocketed it. What was going on? Who was the Black Moon Family? His mother didn't know about them, or they would have been mentioned at some point in the past ten centuries.

Still, someone had attacked the princess, and that meant the Sailor Senshi wouldn't be far behind. He turned to the door as she stepped out in clothing any normal girl would wear. She didn't exactly stand out anymore. He guided her back to her seat and went to hang her dress up. There was a large blood stain on the gut.

"Now, what's all this about a Black Moon?" he wondered. "We only have the one moon, as far as I know."

"They sent an emissary to the Moon, demanding that mother step down, and demanding access to the old Elysion Castle that was sealed away."

"…they wanted that place?" This was something his mother would want, and would need, to know.

The princess nodded and inhaled deeply before continuing to speak. "Mother expelled them from the castle, and had me sent to Earth. She wanted me to travel to Endymion for protection, but… I broke away from the transport. That was how they located me."

Hirokazu opened up the small refrigerator and gave the princess a bottle of water. When she showed a look of confusion, he sighed and opened it for her.

"So, why would you break off like that? Especially if your Sailor Senshi were following you?" He could guess that she was in a decoy car because, knowing Sailor Mars, she would never have been able to give direction to break away if the others had been with her.

"I… I wanted to go to Sailor Earth for protection."

Hirokazu froze just before he could take a drink of his own as his mind processed that idea. Just days ago, the princess was fearful that his people were clawed monsters who stole souls. Today, she was seeking entrance to the Dark Kingdom for protection. He didn't understand exactly how that worked out in her mind.

"Sailor Earth? The… queen of the Dark Kingdom?"

Serenity nodded. "Yes. I know it seems strange—"

"To call it 'strange' doesn't even begin to describe it."

"She took an oath!" Serenity took his stunned silence as her cue to continue. "Like the other four. She took an oath of protection to me. To break that oath would strip her of her powers, and if she truly is still alive, then she never broke it. She will still have to protect me from everything."

He nodded. "So, by braving her kingdom, you hope to find sanctuary?" She nodded. "I see."

There was a long pause as he took a drink of his water. "I think it's a stupid idea."

Serenity went red. "Y-you dare speak to a princess in that manner?" she demanded as she rose up.

"Don't you think this Black Moon will realize that this was your intention? They may already be storming the Dark Kingdom as we speak, looking for you!" That idea terrified him— his mother would not be prepared for such an invasion. He would have to find his brother and somehow tell him without getting captured and returned home.

Serenity deflated somewhat. "I… had not considered that."

"For that matter, if they are wise, they are now keeping an eye on Prince Endymion's castle, and may have spies planted within." He avoided looking at her as he sat his bottle down. "Your plan has you trapped, my lady. I fear I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to leave my protection."

She sat in stunned silence as he began to formulate his plan. He could get the princess to his mother, he was sure. It was a matter of avoiding the Sailor Senshi and avoiding being captured by his brother. If he handed over the princess, his mother would HAVE to allow him to stay on the surface!

"But we need to hide you. I'll ask Miyu to bring fresh bed sheets, you'll need to sleep." He walked over to the small phone and placed his call.

"Until we can find safety for you, I think we should dye your hair," he mused, walking over to lift her white-blond pigtail. Yukio had the same hair color as she did, and he kept it black. "Black is an acceptable color, as you are hiding in Japan. Where is the prince, anyway?"

Serenity shifted around. "He has moved his base across the ocean. Mother thought it best to arrive in Japan and transport from there."

He nodded and grabbed one of the four pillows from the bed and threw them on the ground as Miyu came in. She seemed quite nervous to be in the same room as the princess, but Hirokazu took the bed sheets from her hands.

"You wouldn't happen to have a cot, would you? I will need a place to sleep."

She nodded. "I… I can't get it until tomorrow, but, yeah…"

Hirokazu nodded and motioned for her to leave the room. She scurried out. He indicated that Serenity needed to stand and began stripping the bed to remake it with the clean sheets.

"She is very cute," Serenity said.

"Kind of the little sister I never had." Hirokazu finished with the bed and threw the comforter and sheet to the floor where he planned to sleep.

"Well, I bid you a good night, my lady. You can tell me more of the Black Moon in the morning." He went to lay down on the floor, when Serenity spoke once more.

"The Black Moon Family… was founded by my younger sister. Princess Selene."


	8. Chapter 8

The princess had fallen asleep quickly, leaving Hirokazu to roam the parking lot alone as he pondered the information she'd just given him.

Her SISTER.

He'd been told her sister was dead. …had he? It could have been that he had only interpreted his mother's words to be such. Was it entirely possible that the younger princess had survived for all this time?

No, no it had to just be that they DESCENDED from her. He hated the royal tongue sometimes. His own was a corruption of the Moon's, the only one his mother had ever known. Now he was interpreting the pure tongue as his own.

He stared up at the bright orb of light above his head. The Moon was waning, and it made him feel more secure to not have it staring down at him. He honestly felt like they could see his every move if even a sliver of it remained.

He sat on the bottom stair that led to the upper level of the motel building and sighed. He needed to formulate his plan on how to escort the princess to his mother. He couldn't just march her into the base and turn her over. She was naïve and trusting. To be handed over like that would just crush her, and it made his heart hurt to even try to imagine the look on her face.

He could ask Miyu where the refugees went, ah, but with the princess in tow, that would bring questions. Miyu wouldn't ask many, but people would ask her and would use her against him. She suffered daily being in the lower caste, he refused to allow her to suffer more because of him.

"Point D." Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? The frozen entryway at the top of the world could get them through. He smiled and stared at the crystal in his hand. He could transport the both of them there!

He made to stand, to go at once to deliver the girl to his mother as she slept when he halted at the door, which had been left cracked open.

The bodyguard would take Miyu in for questioning. Sailor Mars would be there, with that scary look on her pretty face, her hands would ignite in flame and grab Miyu's shoulder, causing her to scream as—

He paled and spat bile. He'd have to ditch the guard first. No. He would have to take Miyu with him.

'_Damn._'

* * *

><p>Yukio was now in custody. The Sailor Senshi had refused to let him go and now he was certain he was going to die. The entire time, he shook and thought of his brother. He couldn't blame Hirokazu for his capture— he would have been on the surface anyway and would have explored the wreckage all the same.<p>

He sat in the tiny room and listened to the sounds of leaking water and the occasional scuffle of feet. No one had been by to see him. He'd already tried opening a portal to the Dark Kingdom, but the stone in the cell simply drank the dark energy in.

He had his hand on the smooth wall, running it back and forth as he thought. Selene was on Earth again. He knew that much. He'd met her once, but he'd been so young. Maybe three? He had been more concerned with the beautiful princess Venus than with the pink haired princess.

'_Yucky! Why do you have PINK hair?! Pink is yucky!_' he recalled telling her with a smile at the innocence he'd had. He'd then turned and ran off before his mother could chastise him.

"Pink is still yucky," he whispered to himself as he turned around to see Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus walk to the cell. Venus put her palm against the wall and he watched as the door slid open. Both stepped inside and stared at him for the longest time. He simply nodded to acknowledge their presence and continued running his hand on the stone.

"I keep telling you, princesses, I know little more than you at this point," he warned.

Venus wasn't impressed. "Then how are you sure it's the sister?"

"The hair, mostly." He tugged on his own. "It is a color that is difficult to miss."

He looked to Venus and then blushed before looking away, concerning himself with the wall once more.

"Pink hair would stand out to the population. We would have more reports," Mercury explained as she worked on her computer. He glanced back at her and watched the figures appear and vanish across her visor.

"White gold is a signature of the royal family, is it not?" He stretched his leg out as it began to cramp up. "A man of white gold hair has been seen in the city, and my spies claim he bares the inverted Holy Moon." To prove a point, Yukio pointed to his forehead before brushing hair in the way once more and turning back to his comforting position.

Venus snorted and stepped out of the cell. She was unable to see the disappointed look on his face as she left.

"Your mother claims she wishes to protect Princess Serenity. How do we know this is not a trick?" Mercury asked. It seemed as though she were taking a statement.

"Ah. My mother would gladly protect the princess with her life. However, as I am certain you refer to the Lady Earth, I would ask that you address her correctly as my queen. She is NOT my mother." That idea made Yukio angry.

That gave them pause. Mercury pulled up several notes and scanned through them. "You said—"

"I said that my brother, Hirokazu, was seeing her as our mother. And he does, do not misunderstand that. He is now the crown prince. I do not see her as a mother. My mother still lives on the Moon. Or, rather, I am sure she does as she dislikes moving."

Neither knew what to say to that. Venus stared at him for the longest time and in doing so, he became uncomfortable and turned his back to her once more in shyness.

"You are not… native to the Dark Kingdom? Is that why, back then—"

"Yes." His answer was abrupt and cut Sailor Venus off. "However, you failed to keep your end of our bargain. I grow weary, ladies. I would ask for a pause in our discussions. I am sure you have a fugitive to hunt down."

Neither warrior had anything else to say. Both stepped out and Venus keyed in the lockdown code. "The queen herself will speak with you in the morning. I hope you don't plan to leave, she is the only one who can open the lock now."

Venus seemed pleased with herself and as such, she was stunned when General Yukio began to laugh.

"Ah. I could have not asked for better." He forced his palm against the section of the wall he had been rubbing. Dark energy pooled out from around his hand and after a tense moment, the wall, which he had been oversaturating with energy, blew out.

Venus tried to force the lock back open, but she was electrocuted for trying. He turned and went to the door for a moment to see if she would be okay, and then he left.

"GUARDS! He is escaping!"

* * *

><p>Hirokazu hadn't slept well. All of his thoughts had kept him up throughout the night and as the sun rose, he was lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling. He heard the sound of rustling and looked over to the bed, where the princess was sitting up and rubbing her eyes.<p>

"Good morning," he said with a grunt as he stretched and sat up. The dark circles under his eyes gave away his insomnia as he blinked owlishly. She looked to him and seemed startled. However, she recalled the events of the previous day and calmed herself. "I hope you have slept well."

Serenity nodded and sat up. "It was… unusual."

"I'd expect royalty wouldn't be used to sleeping conditions such as this. Do you want first shower?"

When she made no move to stand, he got up and took it as invitation to allow him first use.

Once he finished and redressed, he was back in the room proper, trying to get the last of the water from his hair. By this time, Serenity was looking at her bloody dress. She was pale at the sight of it.

"If I could remove the stain, you could wear it." Hirokazu was no good at removing stains. That was what the maids at the castle were for. He went to clear the bathroom out for her, and was confused when he saw she was still staring at the blood stained dress.

"He could have died," she whispered. She grabbed the bloody fabric in her fist and stood still. That was when the prince realized that she was finally processing the events from the previous day. She was going into shock.

He moved over to her and put his arm around her shoulders before thinking about it. The moment she realized he was touching her, she broke down crying and went to her knees. He followed her. She was annoying, yes, but he had seen his own mother break down crying several times over the long centuries. He understood that she shouldn't be ignored right now.

"Hey, hey… shh." He hugged her and sat there as she continued with her break down. "It's okay, princess. Your guard is well and resting."

"He could have died because of me!" she sobbed as she curled in on herself.

"You are in a war. Have you never seen such things before? I have witnessed death since I was only three."

That news broke her out of her own sadness and he let her go. Both sat on the floor as she composed herself, pushing her white gold hair from her face. "What?"

He nodded. "When I was three… soldiers broke into my home, where I was with my mother and… neighbors." Hirokazu knew he would have to choose his words very carefully. "They never should have been there to begin with, but somehow, they were. There was nothing that could be done. Some of our neighbors were killed, and my mother… she lost her brother that day."

"Soldiers?" The princess seemed to understand that the implication of soldiers meant the forces of her own home.

"I was there to see it. My brother protected me; however, mother was unable to truly defend us, as she had been injured by these same soldiers only days earlier. I don't remember much of that day, but she drove them off for good, and watched him die before her. Now, she takes in the wounded and the lower caste. Any who need help have such with her."

Serenity wiped her eyes and sniffled. "Your uncle was killed by our soldiers? I-I could ask my mother to allow him rebirth," she mused. Hirokazu laughed.

"We are lower caste, princess. We supported the Dark Kingdom. Somehow, I don't believe that this information would work in our favor. But, thank you for the offer."

He motioned to the bathroom and she stepped back inside. Popping his back, he dug his crystal out of the rose bush once more and pocketed it. He would get both of them safely out of city limits before placing Miyu with a transport and teleporting the princess straight to his mother.

He stepped outside for a moment, to see if he could see Miyu and waved her down. His heart sank when he saw the look of concern and terror on her face.

"Miyu, what's wrong?"

She put her hands on his arms and pushed him back inside. The door clicked closed behind them and she peeked out the window. After she seemed satisfied with something, she turned back to him.

"Hirokazu, the Moon has just placed the city on lockdown until the princess is located."

He froze and looked back to the bathroom. His plans were falling apart, and he would have to improvise. He had to get both out of the city at once. If Sailor Mars were to come, his identity would be uncovered, and Miyu would be in danger for having harbored him for so long.

"Damn."

* * *

><p>Yukio woke in an alley way after having exhausted himself by his escape. He hadn't planned his landing at all and had no idea where he was. He would have to find a base, or return to the Dark Kingdom to recover. He coughed and sat up with a groan of pain and looked around. He was in a high-class neighborhood and grimaced. He did not want to mingle with the Upper Caste. He wanted to rest.<p>

Standing, he limped his way out of the alley and looked up and down the street. There were no people out, he was totally alone.

'_They must be under lockdown because of my escape,_' he decided. Even if it probably wasn't true, it was the best thing he could come up with.

Hissing in pain, he realized he'd twisted something in his leg the wrong way.

'_I have to get back home soon. I can't handle this pain for long._'

He would have to go out and find another place to teleport off from. Leaving from here would be a mistake, he could accidently transport himself back to the cell. He would never live that down. He could picture his brother's laughter and saw it in his mind's eye. Hirokazu would topple to the ground, holding his sides with tears streaming from his face, possibly unable to make any noise.

He continued down the street, holding the face of the building as a balance when he stopped and turned around. A man with dark hair was staring at him.

"May I help you?"

The man said nothing and continued to stare.

"If you do not require my aid, then I am leaving. Attempting to steal from me would be a mistake." Yukio continued on his way for several feet and looked back. The man was following him. With a frown, Yukio was ready to attack him when he felt something hit him from behind. He fell forward and groaned as he landed on his leg wrong and looked up to see what had happened. A very familiar woman was standing over him.

"Well, what have we here? The son of an emissary, so far from protection."

Yukio clenched his teeth and pushed himself up through the blinding pain. "You leave… my heritage… out of this, princess!"

Princess Selene grinned like a child. Reaching out, she shoved him hard and he toppled into the other man who caught him.

"You look very different with black hair. I almost did not remember you." She grabbed a handful and pulled hard. His head was forced along.

"I will not take fashion advice from one with pink hair!" Mustering his strength, he balled up a fist and punched. He caught her in the gut and she fell back while he was jerked free and fell forward. The other man ran around to help Selene stand. Yukio was back up and limped backwards.

Now, that cell did not seem so bad.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

She stood straight and walked to him. "I want to know if mother still has a portal to the Dark Kingdom. My reason to know is none of your business, however-"

"How would I know? I am a General of the Dark Kingdom, and right now your chances of speaking with my queen are very low."

He glared at her as she stared hard at his words. She could not believe her ears. The man lunged at Yukio, but he spun quickly and was out of the way. He watched the man land in a pile of uncollected garbage.

"Sapphire! Get up!" Selene commanded. The man coughed and pushed himself up on her order. She glared at Yukio once more. "So, your parents saw the light as well?"

"I am going to pretend as though you are making sense."

His dismissive attitude enraged her. "About my 'mother'! Her actions back then! Why else would they abandon the Moon?!"

Yukio straightened his uniform for several long moments and smoothed his hair, taking as much time as he could before looking at her with a start, as though having forgotten she was there. He was trying to enrage her as much as he could.

"For the life of me, my elder cousin, I do not understand you. My parents remain on the Moon. Hirokazu and I were captured by mistake and have not seen reason to leave." He stepped back once more on instinct and Sapphire missed grabbing him by an inch. Yukio took his arm and broke it.

"Now, if you would like to start making sense, perhaps we can salvage this family reunion. If not, I will take my leave to speak with your former lover."

The reaction he got was better than he could have hoped for. She darted forward and struck him full on his jaw. He fell back, grabbing her hair as he fell. She came toppling down with him and through the shooting pain up his side, he laughed.

"Matriarch!" Sapphire rushed forward to help Selene to her feet despite his own injuries. Yukio pushed himself away and used the wall to brace against as he tried to stand.

Selene held her hand out and Yukio forced himself to show no fear as light from the overhead moon began to collect in her palm. "If you will not help me, then I will be rid of you."

"You of the Moon… are all the same. You would… end your own blood… to gain your goals and ambitions," he wheezed as his life flew before his eyes. Who would tend his brother's beloved plants?

Selene hesitated, and in that moment she was struck several times as two guards from a nearby Dark Kingdom stronghold came upon them. Sapphire retreated with her as the guards went to help the general stand to assess his injuries.

"Help me regain my energy, I must return home." He hissed in pain as they tried to get him to walk. "I have news to report to the queen."


	9. Chapter 9

Yukio tried to stand on his bad leg and howled in pain as he did so. One of the doctors came to him and tried to make him lay back down.

"The queen has said you're useless while injured. You're supposed to be taking it easy!" he chastised.

Yukio shoved him away and kept moving. The pain grew less and less as he got used to it, and he swallowed a few pain killers for good measure. He was then on his way down the hall and saw the queen leaving her bedchamber.

"General Yukio, this is a surprise." She locked the door behind her as she always did. "I do believe that you are under orders to remain in bed for the next several days."

He bowed rather than go to one knee. "I cannot remain in bed at this time, my lady."

The queen crossed her arms and stared at him, hard. "And what is more important that ensuring that I do not lose my top general?"

"I was accosted by the Princess Selene." He looked at her and saw her face harden at the mention. "She and a man with dark hair, by the name of Sapphire, attacked me. I broke his arm in return. However, she had something most… interesting to tell me."

There was silence, and he inhaled before speaking again.

"She confronted me, it seems, to recruit my help against the Queen of Light."

"And why would she do that?"

"She was unaware of where my loyalties lie. She thought I was still with the Moon, and sought the aid of blood to fight blood." More silence followed. "Ah, I have not told you of our heritage? Yes, well…"

He coughed nervously.

"Regardless, I have seen your loyalties. You fought back against the invasion when I gave you full permission to abandon rank and take your brother. I could not ask for a better General," she said as he looked highly uncomfortable. "Now go BACK to your chamber and REST."

"I fear for my brother." The mention of worry for Prince Hirokazu stopped Sailor Earth in her tracks. "Princess Selene may scout him out, she may make contact with him. He was far too young to remember her, he will see a pretty woman asking for help. You KNOW he will attempt to aid her!"

"No, he is not so foolish…"

"And the Sailor Soldiers will track them down, FORCED to aid her! Sailor Mars knows his identity, she will scorch him to ash where he stands!"

The queen was the one to look uncomfortable now. She knew that Yukio was telling the truth. Grabbing his arm, she dragged him back to the infirmary, stunning the doctors who had never seen the queen so much as sneeze. Why was she here?

"I know what you say to be true, General Yukio, and you will be needed on the surface at once." She placed her palm on a small cabinet door that always remained locked. It clicked open at her touch. "I cannot wait your recovery out. Please keep in mind this – I will not do this every time you so much as scrape your knee."

She pulled out a small vial from a rack of identical vials. Along with it, a syringe and a length of rubber. Holding the syringe in her teeth, she forced his sleeve up and tied his arm off.

"Do try and not get yourself killed, you are not a candidate for rebirth."

She slapped his arm once, filled the needle from the small vial and rid herself of the air bubbles, before plunging the needle into the vein and injecting the liquid in to his arm.

He watched in fascination as his injuries began to heal themselves.

* * *

><p>"Come now, we have to hurry!" Hirokazu whispered. He had spent the past few hours talking to Miyu and had explained his plan. The princess had decided to seek safety within the Dark Kingdom and he would escort her as far as he could. However, as Miyu had knowledge that the princess had at least been at the little motel, she would have to come with them to avoid interrogation.<p>

Miyu hadn't wanted to leave her family behind but she knew what would be in store for her if she stayed. And once Hirokazu promised that he would help her family come after her, she agreed to it.

Miyu carried her small bag with her as she hurried out as the sun was beginning to rise. The princess came after her, her white gold hair now black as the night sky. It was down from its usual style and Hirokazu had it pulled up.

"Hurry, hurry!" He followed the group and inhaled the sharp, cold air. They would have to avoid soldiers on either side until they arrived at the transport. Serenity believed she would be on it as well, unaware of Hirokazu's plans.

"Hiro, how far is it?" she whispered. The princess fell silent as he held a hand up. Several footsteps marched past as he held his breath and kept his right hand in his pocket to grip the crystal he carried with him. They continued without stop and he only allowed himself a brief moment to breathe again before ushering the two girls on.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. They moved at a quick pace and would duck down at a moment's notice to wait for a patrol to pass. Hirokazu never let either of them out of arm's length. He was fully prepared to grab them both and teleport should they be spot. If the forces of the Moon found them, he would be executed. If the soldiers of the Dark Kingdom found them, they would be captured and Miyu would be left out past curfew and would be arrested. "I do know, however, that the transport is just outside of the city. If we can only make it there…"

He knelt down again and held Miyu's wrist in a tight grip. The princess also ducked down, now thankful that he had talked her in to changing her hair color. It would be noticeable and they would be caught.

"Are you able to tell if your guardians are near?" Hirokazu remained down as he heard the patrol turn and march back their way. Serenity went to speak, but in a moment of fear Miyu covered her mouth with her free hand.

The soldiers walked past.

"Yes. They are not near at this moment."

Hirokazu stood once more and began running. He was followed by both girls as he did so. They hurried on and made it over the hill just in time. However, as Serenity landed on the ground, Hirokazu heard a 'crack'. He turned back at once to see the princess holding her ankle, which she had just broken.

"Damn!" he hissed, going back over to her. He grabbed his little bag and forced the reinforced handle into her mouth before grabbing her ankle and repositioning it. Her screams of pain were muffled and tears streamed down her face.

"Shh, shh, please, try and be quiet!" he whispered. Miyu looked around in fright, expecting a patrol to find them any moment. Hirokazu seemed to expect the same thing and ripped his sleeve off his arm to wrap it around the broken bone. Serenity continued to hold her cries of pain inside, while Hirokazu discarded her shoe and lifted her up.

"You're heavy." That was all he had to say as they continued on their way. The transport was in sight. Once Miyu was on it, he could get Serenity back to his mother, her ankle could be looked at and everything would be right with the world.

That was why he wasn't expecting to get hit in the back of the head and knocked out.

* * *

><p>Yukio ran through the streets of Tokyo, searching desperately for any trace of his younger brother.<p>

His leg felt as good as new, and he wondered with building anger why the queen had never mentioned this medicine before. All of their lost soldiers, and she had had this.

'_It is difficult to create. I only have a limited supply._'

Perhaps that was true. He had little time to think of it. He ran past one of the soldiers of the Moon, striking his head to knock him out and kept going. If he only knew where his brother's base of operations was, he could easily track him.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed it. The white shoe that lay among the frozen grass. He stopped and walked over, picking it up. The material it was made of felt soft and light. This wasn't used by a person of Earth, or even the average person of the Moon. This was for royalty. He glanced up and could make out movement of many figures.

"Thought we'd find you here," the familiar voice said. Yukio turned red and looked away as Sailor Venus arrived with her team.

"Lady Venus." He continued to hold the shoe in his hand as he became surrounded. He never turned to face her, though. He knew himself too well to risk it. "I would tell you that this is not what it appears to be, but I know you are most stubborn."

He heard her unhook the chain from her belt and braced himself to be attacked. That was when he heard clattering and forced himself to turn around.

She had thrown the chain at his feet, in a gesture of pleading. He watched, stunned, as the other three followed. A harp of ice from Mercury, a bow of fire from Mars, and a crown of leaves from Jupiter.

"I do not understand," he said, looking at her.

"We can't find our princess." She paused to let that sink in. "We… realize that you were not part of the attack that separated her from us. We confirmed the reports of the inverted holy moon."

"I find that the princess is in need of aid. My lady extends it to her, and her sister is aware of this now. She and I had a very pleasant chat, where I had to break the arm of her guard." He stooped down and pulled the chain up, offering it back to its owner. "That your Lady of Light does or does not believe it is none of my concern. We have never broken a single cease fire."

Mars opened her mouth to say something when she realized he was right. Every time a cease fire was called, a soldier of the Moon that broke it.

"We have no intention of harming the princess, and will return her as soon as this is resolved."

"Then help us," Venus said as she took the chain and clipped it around her waist once more. The others took their weapons back up.

"Very well. Let the Light and Shadow play with one another."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu wasn't sure what had happened. The last thing he remembered was picking Serenity up after she had injured her ankle. Now his head ached terribly, and his arms were stiff above his head. He groaned and then hissed in pain as he tried to look up. His head throbbed every time he tried to move it.<p>

After what seemed like an agonized eternity, he was able to look up and he saw a figure with white gold hair hanging about.

"Well," he began as his voice cracked from sleep "you're cute."

He smiled even as his eyes regained focus to realize the recipient of his compliment was, in fact, a man.

"You may want to consider a haircut, though," he added with no hint of embarrassment. He laughed at himself and pulled on his bonds. "Now come on, third date at least."

The man glared at him and left the room, leaving him alone. He continued to laugh and groan in pain as he pulled on the bonds. This was shaping up to not be a good day for him. Once he determined where Miyu and the princess were, he would free himself and take them at once to his mother. Screw the plan.

Unfortunately, his hands were bound in such a way that he was unable to grab the chain. If he couldn't grab it, he couldn't pump it full of dark energy and blow it out. That annoyed him more than anything else.

He tried to look around as the pain subsided, trying to locate his companions. Across the room, chained as well, was the princess.

"Are you okay?" he asked when he realized she was waking up. She continued to move and when she saw she was chained, she panicked and began struggling wildly.

"Stop that," he sighed. "You're not going anywhere right now."

She calmed when she recognized his voice and straightened. Before he could ask if she was okay again, the door swung open and three people walked in. Two men, the one Hirokazu had mistaken for a woman and one with his arm in a sling, and a woman with pink hair.

"Selene."

Hirokazu blinked. "Your sister?" He looked at Princess Selene. She had little resemblance to her sister. She had an air of magic to her, and something that just reminded him of his mother. "So, this isn't part of the date?" he asked the man with white gold hair.

Selene walked over and slapped him across the face. "Hold your filthy tongue."

"Oh, it's not filthy. Give me five minutes in your bed," he taunted, causing her to go red. With anger or embarrassment, he didn't know. She raged and went to strike him again.

"Selene, stop it! He's my friend!" Serenity cried out as the younger sister hit Hirokazu hard enough to make his ears ring. "Hiro is my friend!"

He laughed a little as he straightened. "I… would not consider myself a 'friend', princess. We hardly know one another."

"You offered to protect me when I was attacked by these people," she reminded. The prince could feel strength swelling in her with each word. "You kept watch over me as I slept! You offered to abandon your life to take me to the Dark Kingdom when I asked! You are my friend!"

His smile faded with her words and he became uncomfortable. "You… should not thank me for that."

"Hiro is my friend, and your blows on him are as if they were on me!" she continued, clearly not listening to him. Despite how he felt about her – he was convinced she was an idiot – she proved him wrong. Her fire and words held a wisdom he had not expected.

Why would she hide it?

He struggled again to free himself, to move his hands, something! Selene looked to the man with white gold hair.

"Diamond, please bring in our guest."

The man bowed and walked out.

"What do you think, sister? How do you think my family will do against yours?" Selene smiled and held her arms wide. "A thousand years in hiding from mother. A thousand years in hiding from that lying whore. We have come to claim the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou!"

"The Senshi will stop you," Hirokazu warned. His entire attitude had changed. He was no longer a smiling fool; he was willing to rip her throat out. "Sailor Mars will turn you to ash. Maybe I should slice off that ugly hair, first. I want to burn it myself."

He gave off a dark aura as he spoke and his voice was low, almost growling.

"Your dog could stand to learn manners," Selene mused. "Now, how did you plan to cross in to the Dark Kingdom? I will need to cleanse it if it will be our new seat of power."

"Like hell I would tell you!" Hirokazu roared, pulling against his bonds. They hadn't searched him; he could feel the crystal in his pocket. He tugged in vain, he was not his brother. He was not powerful physically.

"I would suggest you begin talking, little boy," Selene warned as the door opened back up. Hirokazu turned to look and his stomach churned. Diamond walked in, dragging Miyu with him. "Or else I'll be forced to do something… drastic."


	10. Chapter 10

"Let her GO!" Hirokazu shouted as he pulled against the chains holding him in place. He pulled hard with renewed vigor. The bonds simply clattered as they refused to give. His enraged state caused Selene to smile.

"Oh, you're worried about this filth?" she wondered. Her words worked and he once more tried to rip himself free.

"I will get out of these bonds, and I will KILL YOU!" He couldn't control his anger and he just felt it spill out in dark clouds around his entire form. Both princesses watched as he kept pulling harder and harder. For a moment, Sapphire was truly worried he would rip himself free.

Serenity didn't know what to make of the energy pouring off of him. That much was clear on her face. She turned back to her sister.

"Let the child go! You are angering Hiro, you shouldn't do this!" she pleaded. "You are of the Moon! This is not our way!"

"I am of the Black Moon! MY family doesn't bow to YOURS!"

Hirokazu could see that those words ran through the older princess like a blade. He pulled at his bonds once more while his anger did nothing but grow.

"I will be free if I must chew my own arm off, and you will regret having been born," he growled. "You have sealed your own fate."

Selene laughed at his threat and found it feeble at best. "You remind me so much of your brother."

That brought a new round of pulling. "Don't you dare talk about my brother like you know him!"

"No, he refused to help me. He turned his back on me."

That made Hirokazu smile as he gave a long, hard pull. "He is loyal to his own."

Selene reached out and backhanded Miyu who began to cry.

"Do not lie about your brother, little cousin." Serenity's eyes grew wide. "He betrays your parents to remain with that whore who claims to be the queen of the Earth."

"I am truly going to enjoy tearing your heart out. Though, that is assuming you even HAVE one." Hirokazu began to laugh again, but there was a darkness to it that frightened Serenity. "What he and I do are none of your business."

Selene, for the most part, did not seem to care about his words. She waved him off and turned to Diamond, motioning with her head. He kept his grip on Miyu and began dragging the crying girl off.

"HEY! Bring her back here!" Hirokazu shouted. "Miyu!"

The door slammed shut, and the two of them were left alone again. Hirokazu began cursing loudly and calling for them to bring Miyu back. He ended up exhausting himself and slumped down.

"Hiro…?"

"What?!" He caught himself and inhaled sharply. "Sorry. Damn it, what are they doing to her?" he demanded.

Serenity gathered her erratic thoughts before speaking again. "Cousin?"

That word caught him off guard and he paused in his struggle to look at her. There was a mix of emotions on her face. Curiosity, fear, sadness… Hirokazu sighed.

"I don't know. My brother would know more about that than me. I was… very young. I didn't intend to… keep who I am from you, I never expected to be around you this long."

She thought long and hard, Hirokazu felt she was trying to see how it was possible.

"Six or seven generations ago, there were twins born. My brother and I simply descend from the brother, whereas you descend from the sister. It is not a close connection. Do not worry about it."

Serenity nodded and shifted around. She whined softly at the chains on her wrists, but her hands weren't as tightly bound as Hirokazu's. He noticed that.

"You don't have much power, do you?" he wondered.

"Excuse you?" Serenity stared at him.

"Your hands. You aren't as tightly bound as I am. They obviously aren't worried that you'll escape."

"Oh." She deflated slightly. "No, I have never trained as a warrior… my… my sister has the power of the legendary Sailor Moon."

They sat in silence for a long time before Serenity straightened.

"What? Can you hear them coming?" Hirokazu asked. The tiny window that allowed light was kicked in and the prince watched as his older brother came through… followed by the Sailor Soldiers.

"Yukio!" Hirokazu pulled again as his brother came over. "No, no. Get Serenity out first." He motioned to the girl with his head. Yukio looked over to her, slightly stunned to see them together.

"She- does she…?"

"Not if you shut up. Get her out first, she's not bound as tight as I am."

Yukio walked over, pushing Sailor Jupiter aside. He took the chains in his hands and began pumping them full of dark energy. "This will take a minute or two," he warned, kneeling down and getting comfortable.

"They have a little girl!" Serenity shouted. "Her name is, is Miyu?" Hirokazu nodded. "Miyu. You must go and find her!"

"She is not 'little' by human standards," Hirokazu warned. "But, yes, she is fifteen."

The four looked among themselves, unwilling to leave their princess alone.

"Go!" Serenity shouted. Forced to obey, they left the room to locate the girl.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Yukio grabbed the shackles and wrenched them off. Where they had been on the wrists of the princess were red.

"Thank you," she whispered. She knew his uniform to be if the Dark Kingdom, but he wasn't trying to injure her. Serenity crawled over to check on Hirokazu. His face was swollen where he'd been struck. Her now black hair gleamed in the moonlight. "Will you be okay?"

He pulled away from her touch. "I'll be fine once we get Miyu out of here. You, dear princess, are an idiot."

She grew angry. "How dare you speak to me in that way!"

"You don't get it! You've sent your guardians to find Miyu, who is being held by your sister!" he reminded.

"I do not see why you are angry! They can free Miyu!"

"THEY ARE UNDER OATH TO YOUR SISTER!"

Serenity's heart seized in her chest. She had not realized that when she had them leave. "When they return…"

"They can't do anything. To go against either of you will kill them." He looked at his brother. "Get her to mother. I promised her. I will stay here."

Serenity was confused and Yukio laughed. "I am not leaving without you, little brother. I do hope you have books to read when you are confined to your chamber once more." He reached to grab the shackled that held his hands above his head when the door crashed open.

Selene stepped in with Diamond and Sapphire behind her. "Leaving, cousins?"

"Must I break another arm to get the point across to you? Tell me, does such hair imply stupidity?" Yukio demanded, getting between the helpless royals and their tormentors. Selene growled and lunged at him, swiping with her well-manicured nails. They looked to be razor sharp. Yukio was scratched but backed away before anything could be done.

"Far too slow, cousin!" Yukio laughed. They 'fought' for a long time. Selene attacked him and he danced aside. He was outmaneuvering her easily thanks to the healing he'd received earlier. He halted only when a new man with red hair stepped in to the room, dragging a girl by the hair.

"MIYU!" Hirokazu pulled at his chains violently as the metal strained to contain him and his rage. "Damn you to HELL! Let her go!"

He looked almost like a rabid animal. The man simply drew a nasty-looking blade and put it to her throat. Hirokazu stopped at once.

"Now. Shall we be civil?" Selene asked, slashing Yukio across the gut in his hesitation. He grunted and dropped, holding the injury. It was a terrible burning sensation where her nails gouged him. "You will help me march against the Moon and claim the crystal."

"No! Selene, you cannot do this!" Serenity cried out. Her face was pale in horror at how her sister was behaving. "We are righteous! We do not behave like this! That is not what our Revered Great Mother would have us do!"

"She is a myth! 'Founded by the Great Angel', what a load of CRAP!" Selene slapped her sister and pulled on her hair, making her cry. "Lies!"

"The Lady Earth claims she exists!" Serenity said through her tears. "She existed back then!"

"Then she is a liar! It is a myth their kind have created to subjugate us!"

"Don't you call my mother a liar!" Hirokazu shrieked. Selene let her sister go and turned to the man holding Miyu.

"If you will not help us, then let me give you a present. Rubeus."

Hirokazu knew what was going to happen before it did. He was sick to his gut and pale green as he watched the horror in Miyu's face. She was so pretty, she could easily have fit in as a noble back home in the Dark Kingdom. Hirokazu had plans to beg his mother to give her a title, so she could have lived her life in comfort. He opened his mouth to tell her it would be okay, that she would be fine, but they never gave him the chance to.

He watched – and vomited – as Rubeus brought the blade across her throat and severed her head from her body.

Neither Yukio nor Serenity could say a word – this was cruelty beyond anything they had witnessed. Selene just picked the head up and carried it over, placing it at Hirokazu's feet. There was a smirk of triumph as she knew his soul would be shattered by this. He was trembling, struggling to hold back the tears.

However, when she kicked the head to send it against the wall, she realized that it was not sorrow that made him tremble, it was his body pulling hard against his bonds. Dark energy began to seep out of him as he pulled.

"D-Diamond! Stop him!" Selene ordered as she backed off. Diamond came forward to plant a blade in the boy's throat but was thrown back by a pulse of energy from the crystal he kept in his pocket.

"What kind of Sailor Soldier are you?" Hirokazu whispered. "What kind of princess are you? You just had an innocent girl killed, slaughtered, to get your way."

Yukio had never seen his brother like this, and it scared him. He watched as the bonds on his hands crumbled away like dust and the prince pushed himself up. Diamond came at him again, only to have Hirokazu grab his wrist and throat. The snap indicated something had broken and the scream said it was his wrist. He threw him aside.

"I don't deal with pawns," Hirokazu warned. He moved forward, knocking Sapphire aside as he tried to defend the matriarch of his clan. Sapphire's arm broke once more, and this time the bone was showing.

He lunged at Selene, who tried to become a Sailor Senshi. To her horror, it failed. She threw her hands up to defend herself and screamed as he grabbed her face and began pumping dark energy in to her. Yukio had to stand and pull him off to keep him from killing her.

"HIROKAZU!" he shrieked. He grabbed his brother and forced himself between the two. Once the enraged prince was back on the ground and trembling with his rage, he turned to the matriarch of the Black Moon Clan. She was shuddering in pain.

"There will be no more bloodshed on this day. From EITHER side." He cast a warning glare to the three men who accompanied his cousin and to the four Sailor Senshi. "But listen to me well, cousin: the next time I see you, I will slaughter you where you stand."

He allowed them to retrieve her and escape to lick their wounds. He had seen far too many battles to believe they would stay gone forever. He then looked once more to the Sailor Senshi.

"I believe our truce is at its end." He bowed with respect to them and their abilities. "Gather yours and I will gather mine."

However, that was far easier said than done. When he looked to where the two royals had been, he saw that they had vanished.

"…that little BASTARD!"

* * *

><p>"Will you be well?" Serenity asked as she gently sat Hirokazu on his chair in his little motel room. Her bodyguard had been quite confused when she showed back up with the boy who had saved him in tow. Hirokazu just nodded his head dumbly.<p>

"Hiro… or is it Hirokazu?"

"I don't care."

"She… was a very pretty girl. I am sorry, for what my sister did to her." She tried to make it right with her words. Hirokazu was a kind man, despite what she now knew of him. They shared blood.

Hirokazu broke down sobbing as she finished speaking and slammed his fist on the table. "Yukio had no right to stop me!" He stood up in anger. "I am going to my mother, we will stop this Black Moon and she will PAY for what she did!"

Serenity tried to make him sit back down and it was her bodyguard who managed to force him back in the chair. Hirokazu hyperventilated and coughed up a wad of mucus into the nearby wastebasket. It felt like he had to vomit again. "I… I want to take her family home."

A gleam entered his eye and he looked at the guard. "Will you… take them? To Point D?"

The bodyguard stiffened and reached for his weapon at that moment. "Point D is the entrance to the Dark Kingdom! Princess, stand back!" he ordered. He was shoved back by Serenity who stood in his way.

"This is my cousin!" she warned. "You'll take these people to Point D, and if you keep this up, you'll escort them to Lady Earth personally!" Serenity turned back to Hirokazu who was smiling now. At least he had saved someone.

"…and you will not speak a word of this to mother. You are bound by my word." She glanced back at him as he looked ready to strike but reason overcame him. If he disobeyed the princess, he would be in a world of trouble. With a stiff nod, he turned and stormed out of the room.

Serenity turned to look back at Hirokazu again and saw that he had retreated to a corner of the room, far from light and activity. He had withdrawn in to himself over the events. Like she before him, he had gone into shock, but the princess was ill equipped to handle his sadness.

"I hope I'll see you again someday, cousin Hiro."

She then left, leaving him in the darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

For five months, Yukio had been unable to locate his brother. No one had seen him since that night against the Black Moon Clan, but the Lady Earth claimed that a soldier from the Moon had brought three people to Point D. They'd had a note from the prince, begging to allow them entry into the noble class. It was a gift to their daughter, Miyu.

They had been granted it, but the soldier had long left before any could question him to Hirokazu's whereabouts.

Now Yukio was walking the streets once more. Officially, it was reconnaissance. The Lady Earth had a strange feeling and this mission had come straight from her. Investigate the bay area around Tokyo. Yukio used what little spare time he had to locate his missing brother. Was he dead? Had he been captured? Five months was entirely too long.

He passed several giggling teenage girls in uniforms. They were talking about school and boys.

"Pardon me," he said to them. "Have any of you seen a young man from the Moon named Hirokazu? He has dark blonde hair and blue eyes."

They stopped and thought.

"No, sir," the smallest of the group said. With a dejected sigh, he nodded and walked on his way with a 'thank you'.

He had seen nothing like what the Lady had described.

"The monsters of my worst nightmares, indeed," he groaned. He rounded the corner and continued on his way. For the past few months, they had made no headway against the Moon, though they lost no footing for that matter. Then out of the blue, the queen announced they could not attack the Moon until a new threat was dealt with. But she had not given him an idea of what that threat could possibly be.

'_You will know it when you see it._'

He rounded another corner and stopped to take a seat on a broken crate. His legs ached from the walking and he felt as though he'd earned his rest. After several minutes, in which the sun began to descend, he stood again to return home.

That was when he heard the screams.

He ran towards the sound and stopped at the sight of the monster. It towered over him, and few things were much taller than he. It stood on two legs and was holding one of the girls he had passed earlier in its talons. She looked to be struggling to breathe as her body began to shrivel up.

Without a second thought, he picked up a length of piping and filled it with dark energy. When it was fit to explode, he hurled it at the creature. It embedded in the pavement several yards away. The girl stopped shrieking as her body crumbled to dust and blew away in the wind.

His blue eyes went wide. The monster turned its gaze to him and began lumbering that way. Yukio turned and ran as fast as he could. If nothing else, it would give the other girls time to escape, assuming they were hiding somewhere. He rounded a corner and watched in his horror as the… the THING passed through the wall as easily as still air!

"What in the name of all that is merciful IS this?!" he screamed as he kept going. Anything he could grab he would pump full of dark energy until his own levels began to drop. If he used any more, he would be rendered helpless.

Not watching his footing, Yukio tripped on a broken section of pavement and fell. He curled in on himself as the items he'd been readying as projectiles hit the ground around him and exploded. He turned to get up when he felt his body lift from the ground. Though he couldn't lay a hand on the creature, it held him easily. He felt a strange sensation throughout his entire body.

'_Is this… what it feels like to die? Is this how Ukito felt… when I-_'

He almost missed the sight. When he opened his eyes, a soft blue light flowed over both him and the monster. Its body began to turn solid. He was not going to question having his life handed back to him. Using up almost everything he had left, he slammed both of his hands into its midsection. The blackness pooled from his palms and began to rot the monster away. It dropped him and roared in what could only be described as pain.

Breathing hard, he pushed himself up to see a woman, a Sailor Soldier, standing on a light post. She stared down at him and nodded before leaping off. He didn't get a good look at her face.

"What…? Was she… in white?"

* * *

><p>Hirokazu hadn't moved much since Miyu's death. The motel was abandoned now, but he did his best to keep it repaired. Some days, he didn't move at all. The memories would cripple him beyond repair and he would cry to himself.<p>

Today was a cleaning day. He was moving around slowly, dusting off his things. As he had the energy for it, he planned to clean all of the rooms. It was something to take his mind off of getting that poor girl killed.

After watering his plants, he noticed movement outside his window. Probably kids again, coming to explore the 'haunted' building. He frowned and went to go chase them off. He threw the door open to yell and faltered.

"…Princess Serenity?"

The princess, his cousin, stood there as a Sailor Soldier, dressed in white. She removed the mask from her eyes and smiled at him. "How did you recognize me?"

He stood aside to let her in. "Your hair, mostly. I see you have let the color begin to grow back in." He closed the door behind her and stood there as she took his chair.

"You are very observant."

"May I ask why you are here?"

She laughed at his bluntness and settled in to a smile. "I would speak with your mother. Ah, but I would rather risk my entrance to your home escorted."

"You're an idiot." Hirokazu turned to continue his cleaning. Serenity frowned.

"Wh-"

"Entering the Dark Kingdom? Even in such a state, you risk yourself. I will not play part in another needless death." He slammed the cleaning cloth down and turned to stare at her. "Not after Miyu!"

"Your mother will not have me executed! She is under Oath!"

"And _your_ mother, dear cousin, is insane! She would have you executed as 'tainted' if she knew such a thought crossed your mind!"

Both stared at one another for long, long moments. Hirokazu eventually broke his gaze and walked to the door, mumbling something about another room needed cleaning.

"That is why I come to you." Her words stopped him dead and he turned to look at her. "Mother has found… well, as she would call it, 'a problem', and is having it 'taken care of'."

He sighed and went back to what he was doing, heading to the next room over. She followed him, disbelieving of his actions. "Hiro! I need your help!"

"You need to return to your life of comfortable ignorance, while the option is still present to you," he warned. "Do not lose your innocence."

He opened the door to enter the room and coughed because of the dust. He planned to dust the room, but stopped when the princess grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around.

"Mother has summoned them here! The Outer Sailor Soldiers!"

He had no idea what to think of that. He stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate on why this was such a terrible thing.

With a frown, she let him go. "If you refuse to help, I will go to your mother myself!"

He ignored her as best he could and went about cleaning the room up. She couldn't believe his actions. She needed his help, and he refused her. She grabbed his shoulder again, but he jerked free to continue on his way.

"Princess, when I came to the surface, all I wanted was to see what the Earth had to offer, even though it meant my life would be forfeit if your forces found me. All I have succeeded in doing was getting an innocent girl slaughtered in the most horrible of ways. I want nothing more to do with your war or your ambitions."

She puffed up as though it would get him to see things her way. He just arched a brow at her and shook his head.

"Hiro, please, I need your help! If they arrive before I have completed my goal, it will be for naught!"

He waved a hand in dismissal as he turned to dust one of the suitcase racks in the room. With welling anger in her, Serenity stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. In his own anger, Hirokazu lifted a glass and felt it shatter in his hand, embedding glass into the skin.

"Damn…"

* * *

><p>Princess Serenity easily walked through the entrance at Point D after having appeared nearby. Being a Sailor Soldier gave her access to a wealth of power and energy that she had never had before and that all thought was unavailable to her. She ignored the guards who were following her and ordering her to stop. They didn't recognize her or they would have tried to capture her… or would have allowed her on. It was no secret back home that the Dark Kingdom wanted her dead, and what better way to boost their morale than to have the Lady Earth perform the deed?<p>

However, the Lady Earth would not harm her. She was under Oath, to both the Queen and the Princess. That was why she had not appeared on the front lines.

No… Hiro had said that she had lost her brother right after the invasion; it was sadness that kept her from battle. But the Lady Earth had no siblings, right? She was from elsewhere and had come here alone. Could Hiro have lied to gain sympathy? He had declined to have the 'brother' reincarnated, though, specifically citing that they were aligned with the Dark Kingdom.

The palace was in sight, and she was now running to avoid the guards. One managed to grab her wrist and she looked back to him. Her eyes went wide. This was one of her mother's personal guards, and he seemed… frightened to see her there.

Yanking herself free, she managed to make it through a window and was steadily making her way along the outer wall now, listening to the man shout for her return. She was almost to the window that led to the throne room and was wondering why the guard had been there. Had he defected?

Peering in to aim her landing, she nearly fell from the ledge.

Talking to the Lady Earth… was her mother. And the Lady Earth did not look happy.

The Lady Earth stared hard at the queen before her. "You have the AUDACITY to walk into MY kingdom and demand MY help for your twisted schemes and desires?!" she roared.

Queen Serenity stood there. "You are under Oath to help me. Should you refuse me-"

"GET OUT!" She stood and drew her sword. "I have nothing to fear from your empty threat of death! Leave now, or leave in pieces!"

Queen Serenity was in disbelief. None had defied her before, yet here was this… this THING that dared to. The Lady Earth lunged at her and swiped several times with her blade. The runes carved in the metal sang in an eerie dissonance. It was haunting and beautiful.

She backed away from the first and second swings and was stuck on the third. The guards who had come with her ran in and saw it. It made no sense to them. The Lady Earth, the Sailor Guardian of the Planet Earth, had gone against the Moon Queen. And she was still transformed.

"Take your insane queen from my sight and never return here again," she ordered. With a rough motion, she swung the sword to her right with enough force to cause the blood to splatter off the blade. "She attacked me, first."

The doors closed shut as Queen Serenity was led from the room and Sailor Earth went back to her throne. She leaned her sword against the seat.

"You can drop in now, Princess."

Princess Serenity was stunned by what she had witnessed. She jumped in and landed on the floor as she slipped on her own pigtail, undoing that side. Lady Earth looked back at her and sighed in annoyance before marching over and going to put it back up.

"Why are you even here? I assume your mother doesn't know about this." She straightened the pigtail out and stepped back. "…did you dye your hair?"

Serenity looked down. "It… it was Hiro's idea." She expected to have a sword at her throat for mentioning the prince and a demand to know where he was. All Sailor Earth did was nod.

"Of course. I assume this to mean he is still alive?" Serenity nodded. "Good. Now, please leave."

"But I need your help!"

"As did your 'mother'. I refused her, what makes you think I will help you?"

Serenity bit her bottom lip before speaking again. "I can't let her kill that little girl! Just because she 'may' be a threat!"

"Well. It's good to know that you still have a heart. Your mother was demanding my help in killing her. Now," she sat down "leave."

Serenity wanted to cry. The Dark Kingdom had been her last hope for the girl. The Lady Earth saw the look on her face and sighed.

"Child, I have more problems to worry about than one little girl. A very serious problem has creeped its way onto this planet, and, regrettably, I am one of only two who can even deal with it. Your appearance and costume aside, you are not capable yet."

"Help me! That's an ORDER!" Serenity screamed. "I am the princess, and I _ORDER_ you to help me protect that little girl!"

Sailor Earth went to grab her sword and halted. The tiara on her forehead began to fade out more and more with every closing inch. She pulled her hand back and felt her tiara once more. The princess was more confused than she had ever been. The Lady Earth struck her mother and was fine. By simply acting as if to refuse, the request of the princess was threatening her powers.

"Very well. I will grant this girl asylum. Bring her." She leaned and put her head in her hand. "Now leave. Your appearance is enraging to me, and I would like to lower my blood pressure."

With a smile, the princess nodded and went to climb back up to the window and leave. Once she was safely gone, the Lady Earth groaned.

"I thought I was done with you, and now here you are in spirit demanding more help." She stood and grabbed her sword to make way to the training grounds.

"And now I have to help you with this girl. Hmph. Sailor Saturn had best be worth it."


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm sorry, my lady, I… do not understand," Yukio said as he knelt. "I am to what?"

"Locate the current Sailor Saturn and bring her here."

Yukio stared at Sailor Earth. "I was nearly killed by one of those… those THINGS you sent me to patrol for, and now I am to locate a dangerous being?!"

"You will hold your tongue, General."

Yukio wanted to yell at her, but he clenched his jaw to stop the urge.

"It's… unfortunate. It was a direct order from the princess. My power is bound to her word. If I refuse, I lose my power." The queen rubbed her forehead as the blue heart brooch on her chest glinted in the dim light. "Send soldiers after the child, our little threat is far more important than she is."

"Pardon me, my lady… but the royal family of Saturn was wiped out," Yukio reminded. "By you."

"My orders, dear General, were," her eyes close and she opened them again. "'Travel to Saturn and eliminate its Sailor Guardian and any you deem a threat to my kingdom'." Her eyes fluttered once more. "I simply did not see the princess as a threat and helped her escape to Earth."

He stared at her without comprehension. The rumors had it that she had walked through Titan Castle which orbited in the rings of Saturn and painted the walls with the blood of the royal family. As if sensing his thoughts, she pulled her glove off with her teeth, to show him the scars on her arm.

"Yes. I did kill the King and Queen Regents. This is proof of that." She appeared to be clawed badly. "However, I did not like the order. Think of me as you wish, but I. Do. Not. Kill."

She enunciated each word and paused for effect. "I have hated killing since the first life I consciously took, and do keep in mind that my life was in danger when that happened." She held three fingers up. "I have killed three people in my life. One was in self-defense. One was an order. One was an accident."

She stood up and continued to stare at him. "We are done here, General. You have your orders. The girl will give off an aura of destruction. She may, or may not, be aware of who she is. Bring her here."

Yukio wanted to argue and stood to do so when the queen waved a hand in dismissal. In his mind, he knew he should storm up to the woman and grab her by the shoulders, shake and demand she speak sense, demand that she tell him what she was hiding from him.

Instead, he gave a stiff bow and turned on his heel to storm out.

* * *

><p>Hirokazu had to eat.<p>

There was no food left at the motel and his roses were dying. He needed supplies badly.

Taking the money he had saved up he made his trek to a store that was open at this time of night. It was getting chilly, so he bundled up further in his overcoat. His suit was no protection to the cold. If he planned to stay any longer, he would need winter clothes. Another expense and he didn't want to have to go back to gambling.

As he rounded a corner, something frail ran in to him. He fell to the ground cursing loudly.

"What's your problem?!" he shouted. He was expecting a young thug who thought him to be an easy mark. Rather, it was a girl who fell with him. His heart seized in his chest. She was just about the same age as Miyu had been. And she seemed terrified.

"Are you okay?" he demanded. He got back to his feet and heard running. Several sets of feet were coming their way. The girl coughed and got back up to take off. Hirokazu covered her mouth and dragged her to the alley. She freaked out and began to free herself, but he tightened his grip.

She froze when the footsteps receded and he let her go. Upon the realization she was safe, she sighed and slumped to the ground to suck air to her obviously taxed lungs.

"Are you okay?" he asked again as he knelt.

She coughed and began to nod before shaking her head 'no'. She began to speak when he threw his overcoat on her and pulled her to her feet.

"Come. I need supplies, you can tell me on the way."

He led the girl with him as he made it to the supermarket. He had no idea as to who she was, or who she was running from. He told himself to leave her be, but he couldn't help but think of Miyu. He felt as though this was a present from God, giving him a second chance to help someone. Besides, he would only be escorting her back home.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he began to put items in his basket. She looked at him and then away with a nod. She didn't seem very talkative. She was staring at a display so he grabbed the items off the shelf. "Soba noodles?"

She nodded.

"Fine with me." He continued on, trying to talk to her but she didn't respond. When they reached the checkout, she fumbled in a small purse to dig out money for what he'd grabbed for her. He just gently pushed her hands away and paid for it all. He had less than ten thousand yen to his name left. He'd have to hit up the underground ring again.

Putting his hand on the girl's back, he gently led her back outside and gave her the bag containing her items. "Well, kid, if you think you can make it home, there you go."

She smiled and blushed. He turned to leave and halted in his tracks. With a sigh, he turned back around. "Come on." He held his hand out for her. "You can stay in one of the rooms tonight. It's not safe with the sun down."

The girl nodded and took his hand. She felt very cold.

"What's your name?" he asked as they began the walk back to the motel.

"Tomoe Hotaru."

Hirokazu nodded and kept going. "Well, Hotaru, my name is Hirokazu. Can you tell me why you were running?"

"I was being chased by some people I go to school with," she explained. "My papa is the principal of the school I go to, and lately some students have gone missing. Their friends and siblings think papa had something to do with it, so they want to beat me up."

Hirokazu frowned as he led her along with him. "That's messed up," he said.

They were within sight of the motel when Hirokazu tensed up. He grabbed the girl in his arms and jumped as high as he could, landing on the roof as an explosion rocked the ground where they'd been. He knelt down and watched as three Sailor Soldiers walked to the crater to peer in. They clearly thought they'd hit him.

'_Damn! Did Serenity tell her guards about me?!_' He dropped down to the back of the building and went dug in his pocket for the master key ring. Once he found the key he was looking for, he went inside of the far corner rooms.

"What was that?" Hotaru asked.

"Trouble." He closed the curtains and sneezed. He hadn't dusted this room in a while, but at least everything worked. "They're after me."

Hotaru stood there as he peeked outside. "Were they Sailor Soldiers?"

"Yeah. I've never seen them before, though. Damn." He sat the bags down and collapsed to the floor. "Who the hell are those three?"

"Why would… would Sailor Soldiers be after you?" she whispered.

He looked up at her then to the door, holding up a finger to indicate silence. She put her hands over her mouth as footsteps passed them.

They sat in silence until it was obvious that they had left the area. Hirokazu let his breath out.

"Why would they be after you?" she repeated. He looked back at her once more and sighed.

"I'm… I'm from the Dark Kingdom." Not telling Miyu had helped get her killed, he wouldn't make the same mistake with Hotaru. "To be more specific… I'm the prince."

She stared at him and her jaw dropped. He turned away from her to check the outside.

"They're gone," he said as he opened the door to check outside. "I'm sorry. I should get you home at once. It… it's not very safe to be around me, it seems."

He looked back to the girl who was holding the bag with her soba in it.

"…may I eat first?"

* * *

><p>Yukio skid around a corner, nearly taking a pedestrian out. He'd heard the rumors. He had to see it with his own eyes.<p>

The Outer Sailor Soldiers were on Earth!

The three of them were not allowed away from their lonely posts. They had no servants, only themselves for company. No others could tolerate the loneliness and isolation they lived in. They repelled invaders who made it through the Oort cloud and the Kuiper belt and were very powerful.

Some suggested they were more powerful than the Lady Earth.

He stopped when he saw the crowd watching them. Staying to the edge, he watched as well.

"It's nice to have admirers," Uranus said as she stood there with her hands on her hips. Sailor Neptune was peering in to a hand mirror and ignoring everything around them. Some sort of a divining spell?

"We are not here to bask, Sailor Uranus," the third said. "We are here on a mission." This one was tall and graceful and carried a staff that resembled a key. "The… queen has requested immediate action."

Something about the way she said 'queen' caught Yukio's ear. He wanted to catch more when movement passed by. A girl came up to them. Her hair was white-gold. She was of the Moon.

"And you promised me my chance," she pointed out. "The queen signed off on it."

Sailor Uranus sighed and looked at her. "That may be, but I'm skeptical. You aren't even one of the main Guardians, and you want to take on the Dark Kingdom?"

Yukio tried to listen more closely at that.

"After what they did, I'll kill them all." The girl clenched her fist. "They destroyed my family!"

The woman with the staff put her hand on the shoulder of the girl.

"I've seen their prince. I'm going after him, first."

Yukio felt the dark energy around him try to surge at that. He fought to keep it down, but it was hard. He would lose quickly to the combined might of the three Outer Soldiers, but it would be worth it if he could protect his little brother.

"I'm sure that he is well protected. We will find our target and then we will look for him." Neptune put her mirror away. "We should split up to cover more ground. The Soldier of Destruction will be difficult to bring down."

They took off in different directions and the crowd began to break up. Yukio had to leave to not look suspicious. The girl left with Uranus while Neptune and the staff-carrier left in opposing directions.

He was around a corner when that very one put her hand on his shoulder.

Yukio turned and pulled his hand back to punch. He was ready to flee, but she just smiled at him.

"You seem nervous, General Yukio. Is there something I can help you with?"

"What…?"

She continued to smile. "I am Sailor Pluto, the Guardian of Time. I know who you are."

He hesitated and reluctantly lowered his hand. "The Guardian of… Time? You know me?"

"Yes. You have grown much from the wayward son of a noble family. I have known your fate from long before your birth. Your capture, your betrayal of your queen, and in the end… but I speak too much. You are here to help the Soldier of Destruction, are you not?"

He looked back to where she'd come from, then to the direction he'd been heading in. "I was. But now, that girl's claims to kill my brother have me willing to abandon my mission to hunt her down."

"I would not worry about Safa, there is little she can do on her own."

Yukio grit his teeth and felt his anger boil again. He grabbed Pluto by the shoulders. "What is going on?! I'm being told to protect the Soldier of Destruction, to fight these… these THINGS that I can't even TOUCH! My brother is in danger and I can't even FIND him! Tell me what is going on!"

* * *

><p>Hirokazu sat at the window and peeked out every so often. It was getting early in the day, the sky was still dark, but the sun was coming up. He hadn't slept; the memories wouldn't let him sleep. He had sat like this for hours as Hotaru rested on one of the beds. She didn't move much in her sleep and he would forget she was there.<p>

He promised to walk her to her school today and, hopefully, it would be the last he would see of her. She was from the higher caste, she would be protected from the fighting and from his people.

He felt like he was aging more quickly than he had in the past ten centuries. Thanks to the energy in the Dark Kingdom, and the waters that flowed there, he was still at his prime. Regardless of his age, he was physically in his twenties but when he looked in the mirror, he seemed to be much, much older.

Hotaru rolled over and pushed herself up, causing him to look over to her. "Are you awake?"

She said nothing at first as she got out of bed and padded off to the toilet. He smiled. He hadn't been around younger people in so long that he forgot that their needs were far more urgent to them than polite conversation.

He was tidied up by the time she flushed and came back out. It had been cold last night, but in the warmth of the room he saw how pale she was. She looked like a sheet of paper and it concerned him.

"Are you okay?" He went over to feel her for signs of fever. Should he escort her to the hospital, instead? She was flushed when he put his hand to her forehead. She seemed… cold. Little warmth radiated from her. "You're sick."

She shook her head. "N-no. I'm always like this."

He wouldn't hear it, though. He pulled the jacket to his suit on and threw his overcoat on her. "I'll take you to the doctor's office. You can call your father from there." There was a slight squeaking noise as she pulled it around herself.

"I… I guess that's a good idea."

Satisfied that she was listening to reason now, he led her out of the motel with her things and they began walking down the street. There were few guards out and fortunately for Hirokazu, none of them were his mother's spies.

"So, you are Tomoe Hotaru and you are nearly fourteen years old, correct? What are your plans for High school?" He wanted her to talk, it looked less suspicious.

"Oh… I attend Mugen Academy. I'm enrolled in the pre-nursing courses."

He smiled. Back home, they could use more doctors and nurses. So many injured soldiers would come in daily. As they kept walking and rounded a corner he looked up. Though his heart stopped in his chest, his smile only got wider. He couldn't afford to draw attention to himself, after all. The grip on Hotaru's shoulder got tighter.

"Well, what a surprise to see you here!" he greeted. "We should avoid meeting like this, Lady Mars! People will talk!"

'_Damn!_'


	13. Chapter 13

Hotaru looked from Sailor Mars to Hirokazu as they stared at one another. Sailor Mars had a blank expression on her face, while Hirokazu was smiling like an idiot but the grip he had on Hotaru's shoulder betrayed his emotions. He was terrified.

"Why are you here?" Sailor Mars demanded.

"Why? I'm escorting my new friend to the doctor. She's sick," he insisted. "She's higher caste, once they see to her she can call her father and go home." After a moment, a thought crossed his mind. "I've done nothing nefarious with the child, she's not been kidnapped or such like."

Mars looked at the two of them and then gave a sideways glance down the street. "…it isn't safe."

He blinked. "Pardon?"

"People are coming. You… you should both leave."

She was gone before he could say anything else. With a frown, Hirokazu began to walk at a brisk pace with Hotaru. They were passing people on their way to work or school, but something about her warning gnawed at him. He wasn't interested in small talk anymore. Get Hotaru to the doctor and get out of there.

"Here." He stopped only when they made it to the door of the office. "Now, see the doctor and go home, where you belong."

Hotaru looked at the door, then to him. He was ready to leave. "But…"

"It isn't a good idea to be around me. I've told you this." He turned her around to face the door and pat her on the back.

She stepped to the door and opened it. She looked back to him and flushed. "You smell nice."

He blinked in confusion as she went inside. "Humans are strange."

He went on his way to return to the motel when he felt an attack strike his back. He flew forward and skid on the ground for several feet. With a groan, he stood up and looked to see what had happened.

The girl had been staring at the Laundromat all those months ago was there. He never forgot a pretty face.

"That wasn't very nice," he groaned. He got back on his feet for a split second, only to have her suddenly in his face and punching him hard again. He flew back once more. "Okay, you can stop that shit now!"

He spun around to see her behind him and it startled her. Before she could kick him, he had her ankle in his hand and threw her along the street. "Now, who in hell are you?"

"You don't need to know me!" she shouted. She rushed at him and threw three punches at his face that he stepped back to avoid. "Just know that I'm going to kill you!"

She grabbed his collar and punched him hard. Blood poured from his nose when she pulled her hand back and he seemed rather annoyed at this point. She tried to run her manicured nails down his face, but he grabbed her hair and pulled hard.

"Listen, you're very pretty," he yanked her forward "but you're making me mad." He jammed his knee in to her chest and gut as hard as he could and watched her drop to the asphalt like a stone. She coughed hard and spat mucus up. Hirokazu stepped back.

"Now, I am going to turn around and leave. You will stay here until you catch your breath." He went to leave when a small explosion caught him in the back. "What are you?!"

She stood up and glared at him. "You don't need to know that." There was an uncertain moment where the prince was unsure as to if he should continue to fight or just run. It was then that the girl pulled out an ornate pen.

A transformation wand.

"Damn."

* * *

><p>Yukio walked to the throne room to report his latest findings to the queen. When he threw the doors open he realized she was holding open court. The woman speaking stopped and stepped away for the General. He nodded his thanks as he took her spot.<p>

"My lady, I have news. The Outer Guardians have arrived on Earth. They seek Sailor Saturn."

Sailor Earth leaned to the side and placed her head in her hand. "I was aware of this, general. Do you plan to tell me that I have yellow eyes and white hair as well? Hm? Something ELSE I already know?"

He grit his teeth and felt his ears turn red when he heard the snickering from the sides of the room. "They have a young Sailor Guardian with them that I do not recognize. It is her intention to locate the prince and kill him."

This did catch her off guard.

"Further, she claims to have seen him. If she speaks the truth, she will be able to track him easily."

"This unknown Sailor Guardian knows the location of my son, yet my best soldiers and his OWN BROTHER cannot locate him?" She sat straight and the people in the throne room wisely scurried out.

"He knows if he wishes to hide from us that his best chance is to avoid us! He would not hide from someone he did not know to be a danger!" Yukio shouted in his defense. "My brother is stupid!"

He felt dark energy pool around his mouth and nose and began to choke. He was released after a tense moment.

"You will not speak of my son that way, General Yukio." She lowered her hand. "You will go forth and locate Prince Hirokazu. Leave Sailor Saturn to our soldiers."

He coughed and felt his lungs burn for a moment. With grit teeth, he nodded and stood up to leave when something unusual happened.

The queen's eyes went wide and she sat rigid in the throne. He turned to see if someone had entered the throne room, but no one was there. He looked back at her to see a soft glow in her eyes.

She began to speak nonsense. "Imaginary numbers are inflating beyond safe boundaries. Five hundred thousand. Seven hundred thousand. One point two million."

He tilted his head and approached her. "My lady?"

"Three five point six eight north. One three nine point six nine east. Geodesic structure is being forcibly replaced. Moving at a rapid speed, unable to process."

After a moment where she lifted herself from the throne, she collapsed forward. Her crown went rolling off as Yukio ran to lift her. He cursed himself. Had it been Ukito, she never would have touched the floor.

"My lady!"

"Return at once, General Yukio!" she said through what he could only assume was blinding pain. "Hirokazu is in danger! He will DIE if you cannot save him!"

She grabbed the front of his uniform and nearly ripped it.

He wouldn't question it. The fear in her eyes was evident. She was not lying.

"As you wish."

* * *

><p>The unknown Sailor Guardian was attacking in full force and Hirokazu didn't know how much longer he could manage. He had taken off from the doctor's office to avoid getting Hotaru caught up in the fight and was moving far from his base. She would not stop chasing him.<p>

"Damn! What the hell do you want?!" he shouted when he realized he'd been trapped in an alley. His shirt was torn and his pants were covered in filth and mud from falling twice. He looked like a trapped animal and was ready to respond accordingly.

"My brothers are dead because of YOU!" She threw an attack at him and he braced himself. It did little good as he was he was thrown back in to the wall. He coughed as air was forced out of his lungs. "BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"I'm not a fighter," he coughed. "I've… never killed anyone with my own hands. I… did not kill your brothers." He tried to stand up but couldn't. She had her heeled shoe on his temple.

"Your kind will be wiped out. I'll avenge my big brothers," she hissed. He closed his eyes and prepared himself to meet Ukito in the afterlife when nothing happened.

Opening one eye, he saw the air before him shimmer. It had caught the Guardian off guard and she stepped back. The air opened in front of them and monsters from a nightmare began to step out.

"What Dark Kingdom magic is this?" she demanded.

"If it is the Dark Kingdom, I was unaware of it." He pushed himself up and back. A large… THING came forward and seemed to take no notice of them. It turned and began to pass through the wall next to them.

The stupid girl shrieked and it turned to see them both standing there.

Cursing, Hirokazu grabbed her wrist and took off running once more. His legs ached and his lungs burned, but safety was the first thing on his mind. The monster continued after them and he was finally forced to stop.

"Damn… c-can't run any… anymore." He fell to his knees and the world spun around him. He looked up to try and face his fate with dignity, but an unknown figure was watching him from the roof. A woman with long, red hair. There was a twisted staff in her hands and she seemed pleased with something. The Sailor Guardian had not noticed her, she was busy trying to stop the monster before them.

A soft, blue light began to fill the area and the monster began to turn solid. The Guardian threw her attack at it and this time it roared in pain. Hirokazu pushed himself up from the asphalt and watched as Princess Serenity planted a crystal blade in the back of the monster. It roared as it faded to nothing.

"A wonderful sense of timing you have," he groaned. He made it to his feet for only a moment before the Guardian pulled him to his knees. "Son of a whore!"

"You will kneel in respect to the Angel!" she hissed. "Lady of Light, you honor us with your presence!"

Hirokazu realized that the girl did not recognize the princess in her guise. He was half-tempted at this to expose her, but footsteps caught his ear. He turned to see his brother standing there.

"…damn. Trapped."

Yukio grabbed his arm and held tight. "I have been searching for you for MONTHS. The queen is anxious as to your whereabouts, and I find you at the coordinates she spouts off. Do you actively seek your death, or are you simply that unlucky?"

"I can't help it if I'm pretty," he laughed as he tried to wrench his arm free. "Mother surely isn't that worried about me."

"I thank you… stranger." Yukio nodded to the princess. "I will return my brother to custody."

"They will not leave! Not until I have my revenge on you!" the young Guardian shouted. She threw an attack at Hirokazu and watched as it was bat aside by Yukio's hand.

"Little girls should not play with dangerous toys."

"Stop fighting!" Serenity shouted. The Guardian hesitated and obeyed. Hirokazu was still trying to pull himself free like a rebellious child while Yukio kept a tight lock on his arm. "We have other things to worry about!"

"Such as my orders from my queen, and the thing that nearly disemboweled my brother."

"Let go!"

Yukio jerked hard and tightened his grip. "Quiet."

After an awkward silence, Yukio nodded and turned to return his brother back to the castle when several other monsters began to swarm them. The came from nowhere and had them trapped like rats.

Hirokazu laughed until he coughed weakly. "Looks like you have a choice, big brother. Keep me close and die, or let me go and live. You can't open a portal here, you may lead these things to mother."

Yukio growled and refused to let his grip up for even a moment. "I have found you and you will not escape again!"

Hirokazu watched as the princess closed her eyes, almost as if she were in prayer. From her clasped hands came that same blue light that caused the monsters to turn solid. One of the things swiped at the brothers and Hirokazu used gravity to his advantage. He twisted his arm and jumped the way opposite his brother. His brother's heavier mass tried to pull him along and did nothing more than rip his shirt sleeve off. He was free and away from the thing.

"Better luck next time!" Hirokazu screamed as he took off as fast as he could, looking for an empty building to duck in and hide to recover.

"HIROKAZU, I WILL MURDER YOU!" Yukio raged. He didn't have time to go after the errant 'child', he had to worry about this thing. The general turned back to the guardian and his cousin. She looked ridiculous as a Sailor Guardian, but whatever. He ripped energy out of the air itself and threw it at the monster. It roared in pain and crashed towards him. He jumped aside just in time to avoid being crushed by it. It swung its arm at him and he grabbed it with every intention of breaking it. That, however, did not happen. It lifted and threw him several yards.

Spitting blood out of his mouth and worried he'd just knocked a tooth loose, he stood back up. "What are those things?"

"I…" Serenity closed her eyes and looked to the Guardian. "It's not anything I can explain."

'_Great… so she doesn't even know and she's trying to play this 'wise and mystic' part._'

It swiped at her next, and Yukio went to pull her to safety when she sliced it with her blade.

'_Well… at least she can kill them._'

"So, that legendary blade can kill our little present from the Master," a new voice said. The three turned to the voice. A woman with long, red hair stood there, holding a gnarled staff that gripped a black star.

"A woman of decency should not dress like a street walker," Yukio pointed out. He did not like her style of revealing clothing.

She smiled at him. "Very cute. You are the kingdom we lost, aren't you? The Golden Kingdom of Elysion."

"We do not go by that name anymore."

"Yes… the Master said your kind were still skittering about. He's not happy that the doll took the throne and drove us out."

Yukio's eyes went wide. "You work for Queen Metallia?!" He ripped more energy from the air and threw it at her, but it never struck her.

"You could say as such. I give you a warning: Stay out of our business. This world will be remade. That fool professor works for our cause and you will not stop us. We are too close to let you stop us again."

That last bit was directed to the disguised princess. She vanished.

Yukio looked to the two women. "Whatever you have against us… we do not want harm to come to this world. We want to take it from the Moon to return rule to the humans. But, if that one's words are true, she seeks its destruction. I will... have my people leave yours be. We will not interfere with you."

"You think we will ever have a truce with your kind?!" the one he did not know screamed. "You are a cancer on this blue world, and we will drive you all out!"

"STOP. FIGHTING!" Serenity shrieked. The Guardian hesitated. "That's not going to help! We have to fight THEM! We have to fight TOGETHER! Safa, go back to the Outer Soldiers!"

"Lady of Light, you cannot mean-"

"I said to go!"

Safa bowed and left. Yukio laughed at her manners.

"She reminds me of myself to the queen. Are we allies once more, cousin?"

Serenity laughed. "You and your brother were not fooled by my guise… but everyone else has been."

"I must go find that little bastard," he interjected. "He cannot have gone far. When I return, you must tell me what you know… and how you even transformed in the first place."

Serenity nodded and watched the General run off.


	14. Chapter 14

Hirokazu sat up with a groan. He didn't know how long he had been passed out in the warehouse, but his muscles were still sore and standing was difficult.

"I'm old."

With a laugh, he stumbled out and sneezed when the bright sun shone down on him. A fresh-looking paper that was blowing by said he had slept for three days following his strenuous run and he kicked it. "I need to… get home."

Tracking his crystal that he left back at the motel, he began to make his way back. His legs felt like they were filled with lead and he was ready to collapse.

"Damn… come on, Hirokazu. Get… up." He held a wall to steady himself as he kept going before hitting the ground. He wasn't getting back up. "Great… do I just call for my brother, or will he find me?"

For the first time since his 'grand adventure' began, he found himself desperately desiring the warmth of the castle, and his own bedchamber, getting the cute maid to come help him. If he couldn't move, he couldn't get away and Yukio would find him eventually.

A shadow fell over his face and he laughed. "There you are, brother. Well… I shouldn't keep mother waiting, should I?"

He held his hand up to be lifted and was surprised when two freezing cold hand grabbed them and pulled him to a sitting position. He rubbed the side of his face and saw Hotaru standing over him.

"Hotaru?"

She smiled and tried to help him stand. When it became obvious his legs were injured, she knelt down in her school uniform and put her hands over his knees. A faint glow engulfed his entire lower half, and he felt the pain and the cramping begin to vanish.

"Are you okay, Hirokazu?" The light lifted and she seemed… unusually tired. With a cough, she collapsed in to his arms. He kept her from touching the ground.

"How… how are you here?" he demanded. Standing, he saw a very nice car stalling, waiting on the girl. Without permission, he got in the backseat with her and shut the door. The driver continued on his way as though picking up a disheveled young man was an ordinary day. Hirokazu saw his face in the rearview mirror. He seemed… empty of a soul. A black star was emblazed on his forehead.

"I was being driven from school and I saw you laying there. You looked cold, and hurt." She blushed and looked down. "I-I wanted to help you."

Hirokazu warily turned from the soulless man and nodded. Something was very wrong. Her eyes seemed darker than he remembered. "That was a great help. How did you do that?"

"I've always had this power. I inherited it from mama, before she died in the fire."

Hirokazu felt a pang in his chest. "I'm sorry."

The girl shook her head as if it were something she didn't want to talk about and looked out the window. "You went out of your way to protect me the other day, I wanted to return the favor. I can ask the driver to take you back to your motel, if you'd like."

Hirokazu glanced out his own window at the sky, where the Moon hung low. His eyes narrowed as he saw something running along the rooftops after them.

"No… I can walk from your home. I'd like to see it for myself, anyway," he said. '_A Sailor Soldier… one I don't recognize. She'll leave me alone as long as an innocent is with me._'

They sat in silence for most of the ride.

"So, what did the doctor say?" Hirokazu asked.

"The… doctor? Oh! Um… to be honest… I called my papa at once. I didn't… see the doctor." She flushed and looked to the floorboard of the car. "I'm always cold. Don't worry."

Hirokazu didn't notice the little glances she was throwing at him, he was far more concerned about their tail. '_Is this one Wind-based? She runs like the wind._'

His eyes went wide. "GET DOWN!" He threw himself on the girl, missing having his head taken off by an inch as a ball of light ripped the top of the car off. The vehicle was thrown in to a field, dumping all three passengers on the grass.

He still had her cold hand in his own when he looked up to see two Sailor Soldiers tower over them. One had sandy colored hair and a blue uniform, while the other was aqua haired with a green uniform. Sandy had a sword, and Aqua had a mirror in her hand.

"You don't know when to give up," Hirokazu growled. He stood up, only to get a heel to the gut and forced back down.

"You will stay down until we are finished, dog of the Dark Kingdom. You are not our target today."

Hirokazu blinked. "What? I'm the prince of the Dark Kingdom, and you're NOT after me? Then-" it fell in to place. "You're the ones from the other night… you were targeting Hotaru!"

Sandy smiled and held her sword out. The blade was made of pale energy and he could feel the heat pouring off of it. "Stand aside and let us finish our mission."

Hirokazu growled and pulled Hotaru in to him, holding her there. If he opened a portal home with every bit of his energy, he could make it to the throne room, where his mother could fight them off. She fought off the four Inner Senshi while heavily injured; surely two wouldn't be more than a bit of trouble. With a growl, Sandy raised her sword up and went to bring it down.

Hotaru's eyes flashed. The driver, who Hirokazu had thought died, stood up and began to… mutate. His body twisted and contorted until he transformed in to one of those monsters. He looked from it to Hotaru and saw the sign burn on her forehead.

Saturn.

The monster roared and attacked Sandy, swiping at her with its claws. Her attacks did nothing to it but make it angrier as they passed harmlessly through.

"Are… are you doing this?" Hirokazu asked, looking down at Hotaru. He didn't recognize the look on her face. She looked like the devil at that moment. Energy began to radiate from her fail body and she floated up, out of his arms. The two Guardians looked panicked. Clearly, they were expecting an easy kill.

"Regroup! Wait for Pluto!" Sandy shouted, backing away.

"Uranus, we have her cornered! We can't just back off now!" Aqua yelled.

Uranus glared. "We don't have the method to fight these things, Neptune! Wait for Pluto, and fall back!"

The two of the fled, followed by the monster. However, before it could get out of range, it roared as though in pain and vanished. Hotaru's eyes closed and she fell to the ground. Hirokazu caught her before she could hit.

"Hotaru? Hotaru! DAMN!"

* * *

><p>"So, do you plan to tell me how you managed to transform?" Yukio asked. He and the princess sat in one of Prince Endymion's safe houses just outside the main city. As his fiancée, Serenity had unrestricted access to his castle and outlying estates. She looked at the tea cup in her hands and sighed.<p>

"I don't really know how. It's… complicated."

Yukio sat the tea pot down and stirred his own cup. "I have time to listen, cousin. I take it none know of it."

"No." She took a long sip and coughed. "Officially, I am… 'lost'. Endymion has sent his four generals to the corners of the planet to find me, which is why I am staying transformed."

Yukio frowned. "Let me guess, we are responsible for your disappearance?"

"Mother claims this, but Endymion believes that I am in hiding. He… he knows the Lady Earth would not harm me. Whatever she became following the war, she is not a killer."

"That would explain why I've heard nothing of the prince. If he doesn't think we've done anything, why expend efforts to hunt us?" Yukio leaned back in his chair.

"He has told mother that he will not lend his soldiers to her 'cause' until he locates me. After Selene left him… he refuses to lose me."

"Enough on the prince. Your transformation is what fascinates me. That Guardian – Safa? – what did she mean when she called you 'Lady of Light'?"

Serenity smiled and stared at her reflection. "The transformation is… that of the Angel, the very one that brought your queen to Earth and founded the Moon Kingdom. She gifted us the crystals and then vanished."

"Then how is it you have her transformation?"

"I don't know. This," she touched the purple locket on her chest "I'd suspect. I found it in the vault one day, as a child. And I saw someone there. I… couldn't see the face, a blue mask was covering it. I think it was a man, and he just stared at me. I remember he motioned to the locket, like he wanted me to take it. When I touched it… it vanished."

"Vanished? Things don't just… disappear, cousin." Yukio tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean, it 'vanished'?"

Serenity shook her head. "When I touched it, it was there for a moment and then it was gone. But the man was still there. And for years, I would see him all the time. Always in the shadows, or the rafters, watching me. He never came close, he never… you know, looked when it would be immodest. But he was there. He led me to safety when your people stormed the castle, he stood guard outside the room I was hidden in… like a guardian angel."

"My people said nothing of a man in blue standing outside a door. Or on the battlefield. Of course, I was so preoccupied with taking the throne for myself, I may have not listened."

"They wouldn't have seen him. No one sees him but me." She looked to the side as if something was hidden from view, then back to Yukio. He saw nothing. "A few months ago, however, I was… lamenting. Sometimes I cry, for no reason, for hours at a time. This day, I was lamenting my lack of power to do anything when one of those creatures came in to the palace. It was an uproar. He led me again to a hiding place, but the monsters found us. He stopped some of them, but not all. One grabbed me."

"Like I was grabbed," Yukio deducted. He recalled the feeling.

"Yes. But I… felt nothing. That's when he leaned in to me, and spoke for the first time. 'The password is Silver Moon Crystal Power'. That was when I first transformed. I fought back. My hair came undone in the battle, and when I drove them off, the Senshi and the Guardians did not recognize me. I knew then that I could fight back, and be useful in this war."

Yukio sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This is getting tedious, cousin. These monsters that attack, your transformation, Sailor Saturn… when does it all end?"

"It ends when mother decides to end it."

"That statement does little to inspire confidence in me," he warned.

Serenity sipped on her tea again. "It ends… when mother decides to kill all of you."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu had made it to Hotaru's home, thanks in large part to a phonebook that listed her father's address. The staff allowed him in with the frail girl who was still unconscious and took her from him almost at once. He was refusing to leave until he knew she would be well.<p>

So now he was sitting in a small living area, trying to not look as impatient as he actually was. He was still covered in grime and filth from the past few days and looked like hell. He jumped to his feet when a woman with that same black star on her forehead walked in.

"How's Hotaru? Is she going to be okay?" he demanded.

"Professor Tomoe is seeing to the young miss at the moment. He has requested that we offer you use of the bath while you wait," she said. There was little emotion in her voice. She sounded almost like a computer. He'd seen his mother use them before.

"Oh, uh… yeah. I could use a rinse."

He was led to the bathing room and after a full hour, he was clean and redressed, sitting in that same waiting room. He was wearing a hole in the floor with his pacing. What was this place? The staff had those same stars on their foreheads as the driver. Could they turn to monsters, too? Hotaru had controlled the thing, hadn't she? Were they native to Saturn?

He knew nothing of the people of Saturn, only the stories of how his mother killed their royal family. But Hotaru proved that they had survived somehow. Or was she a reincarnation?

His head was beginning to hurt from thinking too much and he sunk back in to a seat when that same woman walked in. He was back on his feet not a second later.

"Hotaru?"

"Would you like something to drink while you wait?" the woman asked.

"No. I want to see Hotaru." He was getting short in his answers.

The woman bowed and walked back out. He was pacing once more, wondering why it was taking so long. Was she going to be okay? She hadn't even been touched in the attack, he'd seen to that personally. Maybe it was because she was sick.

It was another hour before a man walked in, bearing that same star. "Hirokazu? The young miss will see you now."

Hirokazu shoved his way past him and ran down the hall to where they'd taken her on their arrival. He threw the door open to see her rolling down her sleeve. Her skin was so pale it was almost see-through.

"Hotaru, are you okay?" he demanded. "They didn't hurt you, did they? I tried to stop them, but-"

"I'm okay," she said as she looked away. He was relieved.

"Thank god. Are you her father?" He turned to the man with white hair. "Are-are you from the priest caste?"

"My mother was, but she married a noble," he responded. "Thank you for protecting my daughter. I am told you… saw an unfortunate event."

Hirokazu scratched the back of his head and thought. "Well… it's not every day one sees a man transform in to a monster."

"These people who you see marked with the stars are… my mother's charges. Until she died, that is. These poor people hold in them monsters, called 'Gnosis'. It was the job of the priest caste to keep watch over them. Mother's family has the power to keep them in check. When Hotaru was injured, she lost control of the driver, and he mutated. I hope you won't think ill of us for it."

Hirokazu's eyes narrowed, but he shook his head. "I'm sure it happens to the best of you. I'm just happy she's safe."

The professor smiled. "Please, stay for dinner. I am sure Hotaru would be happy to have a friend over. Or, perhaps you are more of her guardian, she told me why she vanished the other night."

"Another time. I should head home and check on my plants. I'll see you on your offer of dinner, though. Soon." He nodded to Hotaru who seemed sad that he wasn't staying. Hirokazu left the manor and began to track his crystal once more. He had to contact his cousin somehow.

Hirokazu knew the priest caste. His mother had been of them. Ukito had been of them. Their job was to protect the Golden Crystal and, by extension, the planet itself.

Professor Tomoe had just lied to his face.


	15. Chapter 15

Yukio was running his normal patrol through Tokyo. He would have to head to the other bases soon to see how they were doing. They'd been left to their own devices for far too long, and since Endymion had moved base to across the ocean, he needed to keep tabs on the American front.

Winter was in full force, and Yukio detested the cold. He would much prefer to be transferred to one of the southern bases where it would be much warmer, but because of Hirokazu and his orders to find Sailor Saturn, he was stuck in this level of Hell.

As if to show his misery to the world, he was bundled from head to toe. A thick, woolen scarf concealed his nose and mouth from view, but the scowl was evident in his eyes. Some who passed him gave an amused look and continued on their way. He just cursed and caught his reflection.

Great, his roots were showing. He would have to dye his hair that evening to hide his heritage from everyone. As he rounded the corner, he saw Safa there, glaring at him. With her was Sailor Uranus.

"Crap." He hoped he was disguised well enough and kept walking. He got just past the two when Uranus grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him in to the wall. The onset of violence sent the pedestrians fleeing.

Yukio coughed hard and tilted his head back. "The hell was that for?" he demanded. That earned him a punch to the face and he cursed.

He got his leg between them and kicked her in the gut. She staggered back and he was several feet away, ready to flee through a portal. "You will stand down, I have done nothing worthy of being attacked over!"

He grabbed energy from the air and threw it at them. Uranus sliced it in half with her sword and stood tall. "We wish to talk."

"That wasn't the deal!" Safa screamed.

"Hush. The adults are talking," Uranus warned. She turned her attention back to the confused general. "Where is your brother?"

"If I knew that, I would be in the south where it is warm." Yukio stood straight. "Believe me, this is the last place I want to be right now."

"Too cold for your liking? You would dislike our territory, then. I'll ask once more: Where is your brother?"

"I just told you, I don't know! I found him the other day, and now he's missing again!"

Uranus seemed to find that unusual.

"You know something, don't you?" Yukio demanded.

"I find it hard to believe that your brother is not in on some plot with your whore queen. I saw him just last night. In the company of Sailor Saturn."

Yukio's eyes went wide. His brother had custody of Sailor Saturn? Uranus saw the look.

"So… you didn't know?"

"You mean to tell me that the royal family of Saturn is still alive?" Yukio sputtered. He had to hide any knowledge of Sailor Saturn's life. If he played stupid, perhaps it would work in his favor.

"Only one, as far as we know. The assassination attempt of the queen and princess of Saturn failed when the girl survived. Her father had a patron who told him knowledge of… 'cybernetics'. And gave the girl an unliving life," Uranus explained. "I figured you had a hand in it, the only person who held knowledge of such things was Sailor Earth."

Yukio frowned. If the queen were on friendly terms with Saturn's father, why didn't she just send her emissaries to him and offer to aid his child? Who else had the knowledge that she did?

"My queen has said nothing of this. As far as I knew, they were wiped out a thousand years ago. Bah! You waste my time that I could be spending in the search for my brother." He threw his hands up in exasperation and tried to leave. "I have spoken to your 'Lady of Light' and have promised to keep out of this affair."

"The angel would not grant civil words to the Dark Kingdom!" Safa reminded. Yukio dismissed her with a wave of his hand and watched Uranus hold her back.

"Saturn comes before your petty revenge," the older woman reminded. "Save that rage."

"My brothers are dead because of his queen! I'll send the heads of her son and her general to her in response!" She drew several deadly-looking knives from a holster hidden under her skirt.

"I find myself curious as to how you conceal those," Yukio taunted. He wasn't laughing when she threw one that missed his face by inches and pinned his scarf to the wall. The girl had talent with those. "You would make a good general."

Ripping himself free, Yukio took off running. Now he had even more reason to find his brother.

* * *

><p>Hirokazu made it back to the motel and was watering his roses as he thought. Hotaru's father was up to something. Whatever his staff was, they were not charges of the priest caste. It was common knowledge that white hair was a genetic trait exclusive to the priest caste, but hardly anyone knew their real purpose. Apparently, Hotaru's father thought Hirokazu was one of the ignorant.<p>

He now worried for Hotaru. She was Sailor Saturn. Hadn't they died out? He sat the glass down and collapsed in to his chair. Things were becoming more and more complicated.

He looked up in shock when the door to his room swung open and watched as Serenity stepped in.

"What do you want?" he demanded. "I have enough problems without you."

"Your brother is looking for you," she explained as she closed the door behind her.

Hirokazu snorted. "Good for my brother. Leave." He turned away from the princess, who did not intend to walk out, it seemed.

"He knows you have found Sailor Saturn. I just finished speaking with him," she continued. "He was confronted by Safa and Sailor Uranus."

He turned back to her and frowned. "What is her father up to?"

"Huh? Safa's father?"

"No, Hotaru's! Those monsters that you held off, he has control of them!" the prince roared, standing up. "He's trying to say that the priest caste is responsible for them, but I know better!"

Serenity seemed at a loss for words. "He is priest caste? And he is controlling the Gnosis?"

"Mother was born to the priest caste, I know better!"

"Hirokazu, your mother is not native to Earth," Serenity explained. "She is from beyond the solar system and was granted the power of Sailor Earth when my sister was born. Her hair and eyes were a coincidence and she was trained by the High Priest Helios."

That did not seem to bother him now. He threw his hands in the air. "Regardless! She is priest caste, and they do not take charge of monsters!"

"Then… her father is responsible for the latest attacks. I have to report this. Please, find Hotaru and take her to safety. I don't want an innocent girl killed."

Hirokazu bit his tongue to stop from yelling out that Hotaru was controlling them, too. In his mind's eye, he could see Miyu's severed head at his feet. Only now, it was Hotaru's. Those cold eyes glaring at him in judgment. That he had caused her death by telling. He hung his head.

"Of course, cousin. I will have her by morning."

* * *

><p>Yukio was walking up and down a line of Dark Kingdom soldiers. He had returned home on orders from the queen but could not see her just yet, so he was giving orders to those who would be stationed around the planet, getting ready for their surprise attack. They'd had to delay it considerably because of Hirokazu's disappearance and he was worried that the longer they pushed it back, the harder it would be to succeed.<p>

"I've not been able to check with any base other than Japan, so I'll be sending orders with you to your bases. Let them know my absence has been due to our errant prince." Each soldier seemed to have a look of sympathy. They all knew that Prince Hirokazu was General Yukio's little brother.

"Avoid Prince Endymion's guards. They are not seeking us out, but that does not mean we should cross paths. My network tells me they are busy searching for their own missing royalty."

He continued until the whispering caught his ear. He spun around to yell at the ones ignoring him when he saw Sailor Earth walking up the path. She held her sword behind her head as she did and the look on her face said she was not amused.

He dismissed the soldiers and bowed to the queen.

"My lady."

He yelled in surprise as she reached out and grabbed him by the nose, twisting hard.

"Cybernetics?" she demanded and yanked. He knew better than to fight her to make her let go. She would have his ear or his hair in the next grab. "Sailor Saturn is fitted with cybernetics? You used the correct word, right? That was not a simple miswrite, correct?"

"Yes, my lady," he replied in a nasally voice. She let go with a rough, downward tug that doubled him over before he could stand again.

"Who is leaking information from my castle?" she demanded with a roar. Her voice shook the entire training yard. "None on the Moon have this information, and now a nobleman has fitted his child with them?"

He had no answer for her.

"This makes things… far more simple, yet far more complicated." She ran her hand through her hair and closed her eyes. "I could easily rig a shutoff code to knock her out, but… whoever is leaking this information could produce a self-destruct code. I have… my own orders to bring her in alive."

"If I had her name, my lady, I would have her in custody. There is more… my brother has befriended her."

He instinctively moved back to avoid another nose grab and shouted as his hair was grabbed. He was brought back down. "HE WHAT?!"

"I-I do not know how, my lady! Only that he has!" He struggled through the pain until he was released. "I… I know my brother, my lady. If he has made friends with her, she will be in no danger with him."

The queen sighed and looked back to the castle and then to him. "We need to find the source of the information leak. The only person I have ever told was Ukito, but he is dead. Perhaps another servant overheard."

Yukio nodded. "Of course, my lady. I will get my network on it at once."

Sailor Earth went over to a training dummy and it was obvious she was planning to vent her frustrations out on it. Yukio took it as a sign to leave through a portal back to the main Japan base.

"Hirokazu when I find you, you would be lucky to be sealed in your chambers for the next thousand years."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu was walking down the street alongside his disguised cousin. She had his long coat draped over her to hide her uniform and her face was wrapped up in a scarf to hide the tiara. He was just doing without. He couldn't afford a new coat now.<p>

"Are you certain you can get Sailor Saturn?" Serenity asked. Hirokazu nodded.

"Her father is head of that large school on the bay. She wears the same uniform, so she must attend there. Be wary of any with a black star emblazed on their foreheads."

Serenity looked to her right and the back to the front, nodding. The prince thought it was odd, but said nothing. The crunched their way over snow and ice until the building loomed in the distance. Hirokazu stopped in his tracks as he stared at it.

"Is something wrong?" Serenity wondered, looking back at him.

"The air around it… it's filled with dark energy." He could see the black clouds that were invisible to most. Something was very wrong. He had seen the building several times since his arrival to the surface, but it had never been like this.

"Dark Energy? Are you sure?" she whispered.

He turned and grabbed a man by the arm, one he recognized to be one of their soldiers. The soldier was stunned to see the missing prince right there, but before he could do anything about it, Hirokazu turned him to face the building. The soldier could see it, too.

"Tell my brother. That's an order."

The soldier gave him a shaky salute and ran off.

"We're going to need a lot of help for this," he warned. Was something happening? It was then that Serenity's eyes went wide.

"The Outers! They must have found Sailor Saturn!"

He would hear nothing of that. Gripping his dark crystal tight in his hand, he began to run towards the school, followed by his cousin. They made it to the site of the battle and looked in horror at the bodies strewn about. Most of them had been students at the school unfortunate enough to make it to class on time. Soldiers from the Moon were trying to keep people out, but Hirokazu stormed his way past.

Serenity had ditched the coat and was let by at once. Hirokazu was radiating dark energy from himself and he looked as rabid as he had that day Miyu had been killed.

"Hotaru?!" He looked around at the bodies, trying to see if she was there. He turned corpses over and would move to the next one to find her. Each one gave him hope that she was still alive.

He was struck dead on by the arrow of fire that hit his arm. Grabbing it, he shrieked in pain and collapsed to the ground.

"Hiro!" Serenity knelt next to him and looked up in anger to see the Sailor Senshi there. "STAND DOWN!"

Mars went to ready another attack when she felt her tiara begin to vanish. She coughed hard as her physical age tried to accelerate in response and fell to her knees.

"I told you to stand down! All of you!" She pointed to each of them in turn and then went back to Hirokazu. His arm was heavily injured and the stench of burning flesh made her want to vomit.

"Lady of Light, he is the prince of the Dark Kingdom!" Mercury tried to rationalize. "It is our duty to kill him!"

"L-like you killed Ukito?" Hirokazu demanded as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. "He wasn't a… a soldier. And you g-gave him a knife to the back!"

His glare would have intimidated even the most hardened warrior at the time. Serenity began trying to heal the wound as he kept speaking.

"Don't give me… that self-righteous CRAP! I am not the evil one here! One of you has Ukito's blood on your hands, he was an advisor and nothing more!"

They all looked at one another, but Venus was in front and pointed at him.

"One less to worry about."

"I told you to STAND DOWN! You WILL obey me!" Serenity screamed. She was on her feet at once and grabbed Venus by the arm. She flipped her over and on to her back and put her foot to Venus' chest. It took less time than it would to blink. "Hiro will not be injured by ANY of you! Intentional OR accidental!"

That was all they needed to hear. The dropped out of battle stance at once, right at the time Yukio came around the corner with his own soldiers.

"What is going on here?" he yelled. He saw his brother's injuries and saw red. He'd have ordered the Sailor Senshi killed on the spot, had Serenity not been there. Rather, he knelt next to the prince. "You are a fool, Hirokazu."

"We have to find Hotaru, brother." He grabbed Yukio's shoulder tight. "She is in danger."

"I am taking you home, and I am personally sealing your chamber." Yukio went to lift him up when Serenity stopped him.

"We need him. Hotaru trusts him," she warned. Yukio frowned at her but nodded.

"He does not leave my sight for an instant." That was his one condition. It was more than fair to the princess. "Spread out! Find the girl!"

His soldiers took off in all directions to surround the building. Once they were gone, Yukio knelt down to tend to his brother.

"Stupid, idiotic, foolish little…" on and on under his breath until he had the shoulder wrapped.

"Why are you defending her?" Venus demanded of Hirokazu. He looked at her. "She will destroy us all!"

"Then you deserve it!"

Venus unhooked the chain from her waist and grit her teeth in anger. "Say that again."

"You're trying to kill her and you express worry that she will destroy you. Maybe she'd never have a reason if you would leave her be!" Hirokazu pulled himself to his feet. "Hotaru is kind and sweet. She gets picked on by her classmates because of her father, she can heal people with a touch, she just wants to LIVE!"

Ignoring the warning of Serenity, Venus raised her hand as if to strike the prince. Yukio was faster, though. He was behind her and held her arms down. It looked as if he were hugging her. His head was turned to the side and his face was blood red from the contact. But he refused to let up and lifted her as she began kicking and screaming.

"You don't know ANYTHING!" Venus shrieked.

"I know more than you." Hirokazu used Yukio's distraction to his advantage and ran off, looking for the girl.

"Hirokazu, you little bastard!"


	16. Chapter 16

Yukio raged at the thought of his brother having ONCE AGAIN escaped. Every time he took his hands off the boy, he was gone. He growled and turned to his soldiers while still holding the furious Venus in the air.

"GO AFTER HIM!" he roared. "Squad 34 and 271 will secure the perimeter of the building! No civilians allowed in, but if forces from the Moon arrive, do NOT engage in combat!"

The groups gave him a salute and took off to follow orders. Once he felt that Venus had spent her rage he carefully put her on the ground and grabbed Serenity by the wrist.

"You're coming with me."

"Let the Lady of Light go!" Jupiter demanded.

He spun and pointed at her. "You keep your damn mouth shut, woman!" With a pull, he began to move further in to the building. "I'm not letting you get yourself hurt. My mother would kill me if she knew."

"You still have loyalty to your family, don't you?" Serenity wondered. "Why don't you-"

"I did something terrible, and I can't repent for it. The least I can do is support Lady Earth." He frowned at the memory playing in his head. "She… she does not know. If she did, I would be dead right now."

They walked in silence, and Yukio vaguely wondered where everyone was. Surely, more were here.

The explosion caught him off guard and he slammed in to Serenity and then the opposing wall. He groaned as he tried to push himself back up and saw Sailor Neptune get up from the rubble. She swung her hand and he saw the mirror in it. A wave of energy left it and crashed in to something causing it to shriek in pain. A woman with a black star on her forehead stumbled out of the hole, writing in pain.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. Then he caught it in a flash. The reflection of the woman in the mirror. Only… it wasn't her shrieking face, but that of a monster. The woman's body mutated before his eyes in to one of those creatures. Serenity got to her feet and ran her crystal blade through it before it could do any damage.

"Sailor Neptune, are you okay?" she asked, helping steady to woman.

"Lady of Light… yes, I am well. Uranus and Ara are still trapped in the endless labyrinth beneath us, though!"

"Ara?" Yukio wondered. Neptune looked to him with disgust but caught the glare Serenity was giving her over it.

"Her name is Safa, she was granted the powers of her constellation, Ara."

Yukio seemed a little taken back by that news. His father hailed from that constellation before marrying his mother, a cousin of the royal family. Was Safa his cousin?

"Neptune, we are seeking Tomoe Hotaru. Where is she?" Serenity demanded.

Looking down at the mirror, Neptune shook her head. "I haven't been able to divine her location since our arrival, Lady of Light. My apologies."

"Well, that's just fan-FUCKING-tastic, isn't it?" the familiar voice demanded. Yukio's blood froze as he turned around. "Look harder, sweetheart, because I'm not leaving here without her."

Standing behind the group with her sword behind her head was Sailor Earth.

* * *

><p>Hirokazu made his way through the twists and turns of the lower levels, following a trail. The crystal in his hand resonated along and illuminated a trail. So far he had avoided wrong turns, turnarounds and dead ends by doing so. He refused to leave without Hotaru because he knew if the Outers found him, she would die.<p>

Hotaru was a sweet little girl, though a bit strange. She had this habit of sniffing him if she got close to him and was always flushed.

The trail led him to a large, open room with hardly any light. After several seconds of blinking, he managed to adjust. It looked vaguely like a throne room. For a moment, Hirokazu was caught up in his memories. He used to play in the throne room back at the castle all the time. He would sit in his mother's throne and pretend to give orders, or he would sit in her lap as she held court. It was there that he learned the stories of brave princes who vanquished evil, killed dragons and saved princesses.

That was why he was desperate to save people. That's what princes did, right?

There was motion from the large throne in the back of the room. Holding the crystal up to give him a better view, he saw the entire area filled with stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes. And sitting on the throne in a purple gown was Hotaru.

"Hotaru!" He ran towards her and dropped his knees to check on her. "Hey, Hotaru! Wake up!"

He gave her a gentle shake and felt how cold she was, even though the room was a comfortable temperature. That was when he saw it. Under her pale skin were wires. He looked to her other arm and saw the same thing. Her body stirred and he heard a creaking noise from her knees. Her black eyes opened and looked at him without comprehension, but he smiled anyway.

"Hey! There you are," he whispered. "Come on, I'm going to take you somewhere safe."

As he went to stand, her hand reached out and grabbed him with strength he didn't think she was capable of. He knelt back down and brushed hair from her face. "It's going to be okay."

She kept staring at him and for the first time he saw the change in those eyes. They had been a soft, violet color when he first met her. Now they were black. What had happened?

"Come on." He went to gently lift her in his arms but realized she was resisting his efforts. It could have been anything, though. Fear was his guess.

"She won't go with you."

Hirokazu turned around to see the girl's father. How long had he been there? "Ah. The liar."

The professor smiled. "You saw right through me, didn't you?"

"My mother was priest caste. As was her advisor. You could have come up with something a little more believable." He turned back to Hotaru. "As a matter of fact, why not work on it now, while I take Hotaru with me?"

"You won't be doing that." Hirokazu turned back to see one of those monsters looming over him. How had it gotten there so quickly? He jumped back to avoid being grabbed and coughed. "I think I swallowed a bug."

The monster roared and lunged at him once more and he narrowly missed being hit. He was already getting winded. Five months of depression hadn't helped his stamina at all. Had he still been on top of his game, he wouldn't even consider this thing a pest.

Three throwing knives flew at the beast and lodged in the wall behind the prince. The flash of light from a blade… Sailor Uranus and Safa?

"I don't know if God is on my side or if he's a sadistic asshole right now," Hirokazu told himself. The monster roared and turned to the two. Clearly, neither knew what to do and barely dodged its attack. "Or perhaps there's a sense of humor in there."

He ran back to the seated Hotaru and was seen by the professor.

"Kill him!"

The monster lumbered back in to the room and swiped at the professor. He was lifted up and began to scream. The black star on his forehead lit up.

"Not me! Him!" He tried to point to Hirokazu who wasn't paying attention at this point; he was too busy trying to free Hotaru. He ended up turning to see why it had gone quiet and watched in horror as the professor… dried up. What was left of him fell to the ground like white sand.

"…that isn't good." Hirokazu stood up and was ready to bolt away at a moment's notice as the monster turned to him and began lumbering over. Another blade passed through it and scratched the prince on the cheek, drawing blood. He cursed and ran towards the two Sailor Guardians, as they were at the only exit to the room.

He never saw what picked him up.

* * *

><p>Sailor Earth led the group through the maze, stopping at various pathways to sing. It caused an actual trail of energy to light up and they would continue. It fascinated Sailor Mercury who had her small computer out to analyze Sailor Earth's voice.<p>

"It isn't even registering. Her vocal pattern when she sings is nonexistent," she explained.

"My singing voice can't be 'heard' physically. It resonates in your soul." The queen of the Dark Kingdom lit another trail up and made a right turn. "I 'sing' by vibrating your soul and you 'hear' music. It's how I locate people and objects, by using a frequency specific to them. They can feel it wherever they are."

Venus chewed her lip and looked to Mercury having not understood a word of it.

"My voice moves your soul," Earth tried again. She stopped and held a hand up to indicate they should stop as well. Yukio was bringing up the rear and would look at Venus if he felt she wouldn't see. He almost ran in to Jupiter for not noticing. "Something is wrong."

"What is it?" Mars asked.

Earth took off running at the point, prompting everyone to try and keep up. Her singing continued as she moved and they following the glowing path until it opened up to a dark room. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Ara were lying on the ground, injured.

"Hirokazu!" He was being held aloft by something they couldn't see. Frantic, Sailor Earth looked around for what could possibly be the source. Her eyes began to glow as the monster still in the room turned solid, long enough for the Sailor Soldiers to finish it off. They went to their fallen companions as Sailors Neptune and Pluto arrived.

Sailor Earth ran her hand along the steel of her blade and watched as electricity ran the course. She then threw it as hard as she could. Whatever had taken hold of her son released him and he fell to the ground like a stone. Both Earth and Yukio ran to him.

"We have to leave," Serenity announced. "It isn't safe here."

Sailor Earth looked over to where Hotaru sat. The girl was reeling in pain from the energy disruption and the queen pulled out a strange item. It looked like a far more advanced computer than the one Mercury used. She entered some kind of command to it and they watched as Hotaru slumped over, unable to move.

"She's shut down. Let's go." She picked her son up and made her way back to the labyrinth. "I'll come back for her once I get my son home."

She reached out and grabbed Sailor Mars by the back bow and dragged her along with them to stop her from trying to kill the girl.

"Let me go!"

"Shut up."

They made it to the first turn and stood there. The way back was sealed off.

They were trapped.

"Damn it. We can't get out," Earth realized. She motioned to her sword and Yukio went to retrieve it. Serenity looked to the queen, a little unsure.

"Can't you just open a portal to your kingdom and leave?" she wondered.

Sailor Earth said nothing until her sword was safely returned to her. "I could, yes. However, I was under the assumption that you five would like to escape from here as well."

That confused the girls. They looked to one another before Jupiter finally spoke up.

"You… you're still here because you don't want to leave us behind?" she asked.

Earth carefully sat her son back on the ground and knelt over him to check and make sure he was okay. "Of course."

Mercury fidgeted with her hands for a moment. "…why?"

"Because we're Sailor Soldiers. We were meant to fight together, instead of against each other."

There was silence. It was overwhelming to the five who had to piece together this information. Sailor Earth, in the meantime, was trying to wake Hirokazu back up. She was on the ground next to him and had him in her arms as though he were a small child once more.

"Come on, Hirokazu, I need you to wake up." Her scans indicated that he hadn't received any life threatening injuries. He was simply unconscious, and he was quite lucky. A fall from the height he had taken could very easily have snapped his neck. Yukio was knelt down with them, concerned for his little brother.

The scene was almost too much for the five soldiers who had spent the past thousand years being told that the Dark Kingdom was comprised of nothing but blood-thirsty and backstabbing monsters. Here was the QUEEN of the Dark Kingdom trying to keep her 'son' alive.

"Perhaps we can destroy the labyrinth walls," Serenity wondered. She looked to the sealed up exit and walked to it.

"The general can!" Venus announced and stood up. She looked to Yukio who had turned red and looked away from her. "You escaped a fortified room; you can escape from here, can't you?"

Earth looked to Yukio and nodded. He got up and walked to the wall to run his hand along the rough stone. After a few tense moments, he slammed his hand against the stone as hard as he could and was flung back, cursing.

"Son of a whore!" He cradled his injured hand and hissed in pain as he tried moving his fingers. It wasn't broken, but it felt like it had been burned.

"And here I wondered where my son learned that." Earth sighed and looked to the wall he had tried to blow out. "The room is coursing with energy."

"A shield," Pluto reasoned. Everyone looked to the group of four. They had forgotten they were there.

"Wonderful. And I guess we can't blow it out." Earth growled and shook her head.

"I would guess that there is a generator of some sort." The Guardian of Time stood straight and looked around. "We are trapped here until someone else releases us."

Yukio tried to open a portal to the Dark Kingdom, pouring as much energy in to it that he could. It would barely open. "Damn."

There was a groaning sound and he looked down to see his brother waking back up. "My head…"

"Your head will be the least of your concerns," Sailor Earth warned. The prince just smiled uneasily.

"Hello mother. So wonderful to see you here." He went to lay his head back on the ground in defeat when realization came over him. He was up and ran to where Hotaru sat, trying to rouse her. "Hotaru? Come, now, wake up."

He looked back to the group. "I will not leave this place without her."

"We are here to kill her, you will not stand in our way," Sailor Neptune warned. She held her mirror close to her and swung it to swat a ball of energy away. It hit the wall and was absorbed.

"The three of you in proximity is far more dangerous. Don't you know anything?" Sailor Earth got between the Outer Soldiers and her son. "You want to prevent the awakening of Sailor Saturn, but you are here, with THOSE!"

She pointed to the weapons the three carried. "You bring the Keys of Awakening with you and complain she will awaken! You would not be satisfied with a new rope to hang by!"

As she yelled at the three, everyone was focused on her. No one saw the signs of life from Hotaru.

"We were summoned by the Queen of Light!" Uranus screamed as she got back up. She hissed in pain as she realized her ankle was sprained. "It was a serious situation!"

"A situation that has taken you five months to resolve! A situation so dire, that your queen herself came TO ME to demand my help!" Earth reminded. "Tell me, why would she even demand my assistance? You took too long to track a girl WHO SHOWED NO SIGNS OF DANGER, so she tried to force me to assist her! If not for you three, Hotaru would still be a normal girl!"

"You understand nothing," Neptune spat.

"For nearly half a year, we have been battling Gnosis at every turn, I have lost good men to those creatures! They are the bigger threat! This world will undergo transformation once more if they remain unchecked! The only 'danger' in this building is the one summoning them!"

Hotaru's glowing eyes opened and Hirokazu stood, backing away from her.

"M-mother…?"

"We will defeat these enemies, once Sailor Saturn has been dealt with! Had you done your job correctly the first time, we would not be in this situation!" Uranus accused.

"You dare speak to my queen that way?" Yukio demanded.

"Mother!"

Earth turned her head to the side. "Not at this moment, Hirokazu!"

"Mother, something is wrong! Hotaru is-"

He was cut off with a choked scream and the group turned to see what had happened. An invisible force had the prince lifted off the ground and held him there as Hotaru held her hands out towards him. Her hands shook and the wiring that could be seen strained, as though she were trying desperately to pull away.

"Hirokazu!" Earth threw her blade again, but a shield had formed around the two and it harmlessly bounced aside.

"I'm sorry… Hirokazu…"

They watched in horror as a light was ripped out of Hirokazu's chest and was swallowed by Hotaru.


	17. Chapter 17

"Where am I?" Hirokazu wondered. He looked around the field that seemed to stretch forever. There wasn't a cloud in the sky above him and the sun shone down without restriction. It wasn't a cool day, but it wasn't hot, either. Just the perfect amount of either. The only other thing in the field with him was a large, oak tree. He'd gone to England once as a child with his mother; they were there because she wanted to show her son various plant life. There had been a giant oak tree that they sat under.

He walked to it and put his hand on the trunk to feel the rough bark. It made him smile and he looked around once more. There were two little girls running around the tree, chasing one another. They had to be identical twins, they shared the same features and the same white hair and golden eyes.

They looked just like his mother.

"Hey, where am I?" he asked. They ignored him and kept running about. One would tag the other and took off the other way and over and over. "Hey. Can you help me?"

But as he stared at them he felt content to just watch them. He sat on the grass under the shade of the tree to watch them. As he hit the ground, he looked to his side. Next to him was a woman who also looked like his mother. But her stare was blank. He turned back to the children and leaned against the tree to watch them.

His mind wandered as he watched. He would like to have a tree like this in their courtyard, reaching up to the sky to sit under. Maybe even his own children running around under it and playing without a care in the world. If they defeated the Moon Kingdom, if they put the princess on the throne, it could happen. The idea made him smile. He and his brother, his mother, Ukito… all of them together and happy again.

He never could see the fact that the field around him was a wasteland, or that the woman sitting next to him was dead.

* * *

><p>Hotaru laughed madly as the light from Hirokazu was forced in to herself. Her body began to strain hard as it forcibly grew, breaking the wiring from within.<p>

Uranus and Neptune tried to attack but both were knocked back with a wave of her hand.

"So much power! Such a pure, undefiled soul!" the girl screamed. Her voice deepened as she spoke. Her arms were twisted and malformed from the sudden growth and destruction of her cybernetic parts, but with a glow, they reformed themselves in moments. Her nails grew long, almost as though they were claws.

Her hair kept growing longer and longer until it surpassed even Serenity's length. Hotaru grabbed a handful and sliced it off with her razor sharp nails and cursed as it grew back moments later.

"Limiting."

"Evil spirit, be gone!" Mars threw her talisman at Hotaru. It never touched the girl, a shield of energy set it ablaze before it could come close.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Rolling Heart Vibration!"

The attacks collided in midair and rushed her, but the shield stopped them. Jupiter was on her feet and rushed the girl, only to shriek in pain and be thrown back. Uranus barely caught her.

"Stay back," Earth ordered. Serenity and Yukio, both of whom trusted her judgment on the battlefield, nodded and stepped back. "We'll never touch her with that field up. I've never known Gnosis to do this. She's using Hirokazu's life force to shield herself. Only a stronger Will can break it."

She put her hands on Hirokazu and refused to let go.

"The shield keeping us trapped should let up soon to let her out. We must be prepared to leave at once. Yukio, open a portal. We're taking them with us."

Yukio bowed and went to a corner of the room to hide his intentions from the Outer Soldiers.

"Once she is topside, the Moon will raise the alarms. I want your guardians back on the surface as soon as possible. Lead them out once we make it through."

"I want to stay with Hirokazu," Serenity admitted. "He is my cousin, and my friend. When my sister attacked me, he took me in and was willing to bring me to you for my safety. He lost a close friend because of me…"

"We will talk later." Earth looked back to Yukio who was ready on a moment's notice. She stood up and ran her hand down the length of steel that was her blade. Lightning coursed through it and danced in the runes. "Dragon Dance!"

The attack arced high and struck the ceiling behind Hotaru, who laughed at her. "You call that an attack?" she taunted.

"No, actually, I call that 'testing'! Yukio!"

As the ceiling began to cave in, the general forced open a portal to the Dark Kingdom. A moment later, sensing the intention behind the portal, the Sailor Soldiers rushed through while Serenity had to carry Sailor Ara to make the Outers follow.

The room caved in with only seconds to spare.

"Infuriating. But it doesn't matter anymore," Hotaru laugh. "I'm FREE!"

* * *

><p>"Take Prince Hirokazu to his chambers and monitor him!" Sailor Earth screamed the moment she was in the courtyard once again. "The Kingdom is under lockdown until further notice! All non-essential workers are to be confined to their homes!"<p>

The soldiers were confused as to why the Sailor Soldiers were there, but none questioned their queen. As they had several times in the past thousand years, they began to execute the familiar lockdown orders. Serenity watched in fascination as there was no chaos or confusing. Men and women began to file inside the castle or out to wherever their homes lay. Alarms began to blare, echoing in the cavern the castle sat in. The entire kingdom was locking itself down.

"And how do you plan to sustain such a large population?" Uranus demanded. "If they lock down, how will they feed themselves?"

"How cute, it thinks it understands," Earth patronized as one would do to a small child.

"Well, actually, we've seen them do this before," Mercury explained, hoping to prevent an argument. Now was not the time to fight amongst themselves if Sailor Earth was willing to fight alongside them. "We've placed the Kingdom under siege several times. I've personally watched soldiers deliver supplies to the citizens. They… they protect their people."

Uranus snorted but said nothing else. She yowled in pain as she tried putting weight on her ankle.

"God, how much must I use?" Earth demanded. She motioned with her hand for them to follow. Yukio lifted Uranus over his shoulder and carried her along, ignoring her kicking and punching. The entire group followed, though Serenity had gone after the soldier who carried Hirokazu.

Once in the infirmary, Yukio sat Uranus down on a chair. "Try to not walk off," he teased. He moved back to avoid being slapped as Earth retrieved another small vial.

"This is going to be our greatest problem in dealing with that Gnosis," she sighed. She loaded up a syringe and went to inject Uranus. She didn't give the woman a chance to fight back, she jammed the needle in the first spot of skin she saw and unloaded it. It was over before anyone could object.

"Someone has loaded Hotaru up with this stuff. If we damage anything but her head, she's just going to be repaired." She kicked Uranus in the bad ankle. When she didn't get a scream of pain, she nodded. "Good. You're fixed."

"What do you mean it's just going to be repaired?" Ara demanded as she finally came to.

Earth held up the now-empty vial. "This stiff will cure just about anything. It will repair any damage, even lost limbs, though that takes a while. The only thing it won't fix is severe head trauma. I'm talking your head is in one room and your brain is in the other. Whoever loaded her up stuffed her full for her arms to repair that quickly."

Mercury began working on her computer. "Would it be at all possible to make her run out? Keep attacking until she can't heal?"

"Yes, if I was aiming to kill her. I just want that Gnosis out of her."

"Well, now we know how to deal with her," Uranus decided as she stood up. "We're going to complete our job." She cried out as Earth twisted her ear. Yukio had to admit, it was pretty amusing to see it happen to someone else.

"How do you even propose to get past that shield that's she's made out of my son's SOUL?" Earth demanded as she twisted harder. "Only a person with a stronger Will than he has can possibly hope to break it."

"My brother is remarkably strong-willed. It will not be easy. And there is the question, 'does he realize it is Hotaru he is shielding?' If he does, we may never break it," Yukio warned. "He will not allow harm to come to her."

Uranus ripped herself free and stormed out with Neptune and Pluto. Ara glared at Yukio and Earth and reluctantly followed the Outers.

"Let them." The soldiers stood down on the order from their queen. "We're at a stalemate here, aren't we? You're under orders from your 'queen' to kill her, I'm under orders from your angel to keep her alive."

She glanced around the room. "Speaking of, where the hell is she?"

* * *

><p>Serenity sat in the room with Hirokazu. He had been placed in his bed and they were left alone. She kept hold of his hand the entire time as she sat by his bed.<p>

"I'm sorry this happened to you… if I hadn't asked you to come with me today, you'd be fine." No, maybe that wasn't true. He would surely have felt the battle and would have shown up anyway. He'd still be injured. Hotaru had taken his soul, but somehow, his body was still alive.

He felt cold, and even though she had already put two extra blankets on him, it did nothing to help. All she could do was sit by his side.

"_Idiot boy._"

Serenity shook her head. "Don't call him that." She didn't have to look for the source of the voice. She recognized it from all those months ago. "He did what he felt was right. He's brave."

"_He's _dead."

She grit her teeth and shook her head again in refusal to believe it. "He's breathing. That means he isn't dead. I may not pay attention to all my lessons, but even I know if you're breathing you're alive."

"_Maybe. Or he's just as 'alive' as I am."_

She gripped his hand harder and watched as something blue stood next to her. "I'm not going to let Hiro die."

The door creaked open and she could tell that the man at her side went rigid. Serenity turned around to see Sailor Earth there.

"How did I know I would find you here?"

Serenity turned back to Hirokazu and shook her head. "I don't know."

Sailor Earth walked to the other side of the bed and stared down at the boy. She then glanced around at the obscene number of plants the boy kept. His room looked more like a jungle. Serenity watched the queen strip several leaves off a plant and crush them in her hands before going to inhale the scent.

"Ah… a cooling numbness." She smiled. "Shortly before your forces stormed this castle and killed my advisor, he brought me these leaves, because I had damaged my lungs when Mercury nearly drowned me in our fight. He loves to garden."

Serenity looked back at her cousin.

"Of course, in his long absence to the room, it was his brother who kept them alive for him. Yukio does not like to show it, but he has a soft spot for his little brother's endeavors."

Earth looked over to the princess who seemed disinterested in the story.

"Serenity, I need you topside. If you want Sailor Saturn to survive, you have to be there."

"What's the point? All of this is just… awful. All I wanted was to protect an innocent little girl. Look at what it's gotten us. How can I be a competent ruler if I can't even do this much?"

"Then I'll fight at your side." Serenity looked up as Earth knelt down. "That is why I received this power, right? Let's make our hearts and desires the same. I will follow you in to the furthest layer of Hell; your orders are my priority. Not your mothers. Not your sisters. Not Endymion's."

Serenity felt the moon on her forehead begin to give off energy. Before her eyes, Sailor Earth's front bow and her boots went blue and a new skirt layer formed. It was blue, as well.

"You… you hate the Moon," Serenity reminded. It made no sense that her greatest enemy was pledging loyalty to her.

"I hate your mother. And your sister. You… your appearance aside, you have never given me a reason to hate you. I feel that with you, I can free this world from tyranny. We do not wish to be under the total rule of the Moon… but I will enter a mutual alliance with you." Earth smiled. "I have had a thousand years to temper my hatred, princess, and I see things much more clearly now that I am not blinded by hate."

Serenity looked from Earth to Hirokazu. When she first met him, she still believed everything her mother had said, that the people of the Dark Kingdom were soulless abominations. Now, a half a year later she was in the heart of their territory, sitting next to the lifeless body of their prince with the queen promising to help her.

"I'll admit, though, I WOULD like to have Sailor Saturn on my side. Even if she lives in luxury in this castle and never sets a foot out of it – of her own accord – it would be a terrific blow to the morale of your troops."

Sailor Earth stood back up and put her hand on her sword. "What say you? Shall we bring your guardians with us as we stop this invasion?"

"_You are nothing like your sister._"

"And you can tell your friend I can see him just fine."

Serenity's eyes went wide as she looked between the two before laughing. She nodded and held her hand out to the queen. "Yes. Let's go. It's like you said, we shouldn't fight one another."

She moved with a bounce in her step to the door and turned around, feeling a terrific light in her chest begin to grow. "We are Sailor Soldiers!"


	18. Chapter 18

Once they were topside again the Sailor Soldiers were able to have a good look at the area. It was devastated. The once-bustling Mugen District was a ruin of its former self and what seemed to be centuries of jungle growth had overtaken most of it. Earth was slashing through the foliage to get them closer to their target.

"The Outers may have already killed her," Mars reminded.

Earth shook her head. "Stop giving them so much credit. It's annoying."

"They are the guardians of the solar system, and as such they are powerful!"

"They are just as invincible as you four. And if memory serves, you are all quite killable." Earth turned her sword to poke in the throat of Mars. "Or should we recreate our battle from a thousand years ago?"

Serenity pulled Earth back with a frown. "We will not fight with one another! We have to save Sailor Saturn!"

"Yes, Lady of Light," Mars sighed while Earth snorted. She returned to hacking her way through and let the others trail after her. Venus stumbled and nearly fell, though Yukio kept her from touching the ground.

"The path is uneven," she complained. She went to strip foliage from the ground to find the culprit and shrieked.

"That would be from the corpses we're walking on," Earth pointed out a second too late. "Humans and soldiers of the Moon."

Jupiter frowned. "What about your people?"

"They would have gotten the lockdown orders. Unless it would interfere with an assassination against Queen Serenity, lockdown takes precedence. They've retreated."

The idea of her mother's death made Serenity's heart drop, but she said nothing. No one but Sailor Earth and General Yukio knew who she was, and she'd keep it that way.

"I must say, I was expecting Endymion's forces to show up by now," Earth continued as she kicked someone out of the way.

"My network informs me that he is far too busy searching for his missing fiancée to be of any help," Yukio reminded. "He has already searched Japan, he may have moved to the Americas, or to Europe by now."

Earth nodded and ripped a low-hanging branch free. "Well, Mars, would you like to clear the rest of the way?"

"There may be survivors under here! You can't expect me to burn them alive!" she shrieked, horrified.

Earth snorted. "False empathy from a maniac. Where was your desire to preserve life a thousand years ago when you attacked my innocent populace? When one of you planted a knife in Ukito's back?"

"I said to not fight!" Serenity warned.

Earth pointed at her and went to speak when an explosion rocked the area around them. She looked up to see Hotaru's form standing atop one of the buildings, along with Uranus and Neptune. They were giving it their all but nothing would go past the shield.

"How is she controlling the monsters?" Mercury wondered.

"She's not. They can't even see her." Earth watched the fight, waiting on when the two would finally give up so she could attack. "She's giving off a trail of energy that they follow."

She suddenly braced herself and caught Sailor Pluto who was thrown towards them.

"Guardian of Time!" Mercury went to assist her as Earth dropped her. Hotaru turned towards them and laughed as she swung her hand. A shield went up and sent the energy washing around them like a rock in a river.

"I can't do this forever," Earth realized. Hotaru was far too powerful. The possessed girl raised her hand again and faltered. Her arm was struggling, as though something were holding her back.

Uranus took that as incentive to attack and they watched in astonishment as the blow landed on her. She recovered quickly, though, and lashed out in retaliation.

"I will end this miserable world, YOU WILL NOT STOP ME!" Her hand waved and the energy exploded around them. Serenity screamed as it washed over them, it made her feel icky and unclean.

"W-w-what?" She frantically looked around as everyone began to lift from the ground, each wrapped in a cocoon of that disgusting energy. Yukio tried desperately to free himself and Earth was trying to pull something out.

Hotaru smiled. "If I can't transform you, then I have no use for you! Enjoy the afterlife!"

"Hotaru, stop it!" Serenity shouted. "You're hurting Hiro! Hirokazu! He tried to help you, why are you using him against us?!"

Hotaru tried to close her hands and finish them off, but she froze. "H-Hirokazu?" They watched as it looked like she was struggling against something no one could see. "No… I don't… want to hurt Hirokazu. Why am I…? N-no! You're going to do what I t-tell you to do, miserable child!"

A wall of light formed around her body as she screamed back and forth at herself. She lost concentration and dropped everyone.

"Surround her," Venus coughed. "We won't do any good going head on." The Inners moved to position, leaving Serenity, Yukio and Earth.

"You won't h-hu-rt… Hirokazu! I w-won't let you!" The wall of light faded and shot off, leaving them there as the girl's body began to tear faster than the repairs could keep up with. "Without your interference, I'm free! This world is MINE!"

She shrieked in pain as an explosion tore apart her arms and legs. Yukio looked to Earth, who held the control in her hands. "No, I don't think you will be. Hotaru, you're coming with me."

The decaying girl looked at her with wide, insane eyes and began to laugh. Serenity covered her ears to block the sound. It made her ache somewhere inside…

"Foolish! Hotaru is dead and GONE! I will not relinquish control of this form, of the POWER she held inside herself!" The repair tech began pouring out of the wounds and everyone watched as it devoured everything in its path. "I'll turn this entire PLANET in to my new body! Everything will cease to be!"

"We have to put up a shield!" Neptune cried. Earth looked to the three, who had taken refuge on three tall buildings. Earth and Yukio worked fast. With a series of short-range transports, they had everyone scattered across the three. It ended with the two from the Dark Kingdom standing alongside Serenity and Sailor Pluto.

The shield went up, protecting everything outside of the Mugen district from the black 'blood'.

"You can't contain me forever!" Hotaru warned.

"_She's right. Someone has to stop her._"

Serenity shook her head. "How…?"

"_Jump. Let's see if you're anything like the old you._"

Earth went to take Serenity by the arm to stop her, but she wasn't fast enough. The princess ran to the edge of the building and jumped, falling head first to the mass. She closed her hands as though in prayer and everyone felt it. The warmth in their chests that spread to their costumes. They looked like Sailor Earth, now. Heart brooches and longer bows. And, from each of them, a light shot forth to the descending angel.

"I can stop her, can't I?" Serenity asked as she saw the mass growing closer and closer. She smiled. "After all… we are Sailor Soldiers."

She was engulfed and vanished.

* * *

><p>Hirokazu looked up when he saw the new figure heading his way. He wasn't sure who else was in this calm place and he smiled when he saw Hotaru.<p>

"Hotaru! You're okay!" He reached a hand out to her. "I couldn't find you, and I worried. Would you like to sit with me?"

She stared at him for the longest time, but he never once dropped his smile or his hand.

"Come, it is very peaceful here. And I don't have much in the way of company."

"We can't stay here, Hirokazu."

He laughed. "Ah, I don't plan to spend the rest of my life here, but what is the rush?"

"I… I'm sorry I hurt you. I tried to stop her, but…"

He seemed confused. "What are you talking about dear child?"

Hotaru grabbed his hand in both of hers and he realized that her hands were no longer like ice. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't. He saw the events that had happened, from her eyes.

"…I'm dead?" He stared up at her with huge eyes. "How can that be? I… I feel fine."

"I'm going to save you, Hirokazu."

The world around him shifted and he felt pain. His eyes opened, and he was back in his chambers at the castle. Hotaru stood at his side in a white dress. He threw the blankets off the bed and sat up, trying to stand. Everything hurt.

"What…?"

"I'm so glad you could wake up. I thought I had done irreparable damage to you." Her body began to fade. He reached out to grab her hand as if it would save her, but he passed right through her. "My body is destroyed… the man who was once my kind father is gone. There's nothing left for me. This is what it means to be dead. But, I wanted to help you. I'm happy I could do this much."

"You aren't dead! I don't allow it!" Hadn't his mother said the same thing? All those centuries ago, she forbade Ukito to die. "We can help you!"

"Before I die… I just wanted to tell you… I love you, Prince Hirokazu."

He could only stare in incomprehension as she faded away.

* * *

><p>Hotaru shrieked as Serenity was engulfed in the mass. "IT BURNS! IT BURNS!" Her form raged hard against the shield, trying to break out. Sailor Ara stared down the side of the building she was on.<p>

"The… the Lady of Light! She dove in to the mass!"

"Is she dead?" Jupiter asked. Mars was unsure.

"We have to do something! She's weakened!" Venus told Uranus, who was struggling to keep herself standing.

"I'm doing everything I can!" she snapped.

"Well, this is unfortunate," Earth told Pluto. "Now what do we do?"

There was no answer, so she looked back to the mass. That was when she heard the chiming noise.

"Is that a bell?" She strained her ears to listen and she looked back to Pluto. "Do you head that?"

That was when she realized that the chiming noise was coming from Pluto's staff. The Orb atop the key shaped weapon began to float up engulfed in light. In the distance, she saw two other lights.

"No…"

"My queen, what is happening?" Yukio wondered.

"If you unlock her power, you'll damn us all! Pluto, stop this!"

Sailor Pluto closed her eyes for a moment and when they opened again, there was a far off look on her face. "It's in God's hands now."

Earth watched in horror as the lights converged in the middle, over the black mass and descend in to what might have been the forehead. The ooze was flung to the side as a new ball of light began to float in the air, higher and higher, before taking the form of a human in a Sailor Uniform.

"This is…"

She opened her eyes and stared before looking to the group with Sailor Pluto. Directly in the eyes of Sailor Earth. The Queen of the Dark Kingdom gripped her sword until her knuckles turned white. This was unanticipated, an unknown variable that had presented itself. They were without Princess Serenity and the Destroyer was before them.

The calculations were instant - she could not hope to go against Sailor Saturn.

"I guess… this is how it all ends."

Yukio stared at her in disbelief that she would give up so easily, but was drawn back to Sailor Saturn when he heard the roar of anguish and pain. Sailor Saturn was attacking the black mass beneath her.

"I have awakened here for a purpose," she announced. "But it is not to bring ruin. You would seek my power to aid you."

A glaive formed in her hands and she swung it hard. The dense foliage beneath them shattered away. "I have sensed pain in my human body, but their efforts have kept me contained and detached. I was unable to manifest to cleanse this world until the priest came."

Her soft voice carried and made her sound far older and bigger than she was. She turned to the building that contained Uranus, Venus and Mercury as a portal of dark energy formed and Hirokazu, holding his side where he was sure he'd broken a rib or four, stepped out.

"Hotaru!"

"Hirokazu?!" Earth stared at the building across from her.

"Hotaru's body is gone and I am a simple manifestation, unable to fully realize my goals. I will exist long enough to destroy the source of the corruption and drive them back." She swung the weapon once more and the thing beneath her roared in pain as a large chunk of it exploded and shattered. Its growth slowed and halted.

"The Shadow of Death has given new lease to this world. Its influence, and its blade, prevents me from bringing end to you. Instead, I will bring with me the corruptor, and we will be sealed away so you may live in peace, free of the fear that I bring."

"What are you talking about, Hotaru?" Hirokazu demanded. "Are you planning to kill yourself?!"

Saturn turned to Pluto. "Open the path to the end of time, Sailor Pluto! We will be destroyed with everything!"

Pluto stared and with shaky hands, she raised the Key of Time in the air. "Great and benevolent angel, I ask for the power that you used to destroy that which gave birth to me! Seal shut the tainted pathway and protect this world!"

A large, ornate door formed between the buildings holding Sailors Uranus and Neptune. It flew open and a large gust of wind began pulling everything towards it. The three Outer Sailor Soldiers put up their own shields to protect the people with them.

The mass was sucked in, roaring and raging. Sailor Saturn looked up to Hirokazu, the one who had done everything to keep her vessel alive.

"Always with the end come Hope and Rebirth," she reminded before she, too, was pulled in.

"Dark Dome, Close!"

The gates slammed shut and faded away, leaving behind nothing to remind the people of the threat that had plagued them for months. Yukio stared over the edge of the building and saw a figure in purple and white lying on the ground.

"Cousin…"

Serenity opened her eyes and began floating up. A large black shadow that looked like wings spread from her back, giving her an almost angelic presence as she rose up high. Light poured from her clasped hands and covered the area.

Hirokazu no longer felt the pain from his injuries and looked at himself. Everything was being healed by the light.

"The Angel is creating a miracle," Pluto realized.

"Don't call her that… that thing is far from an angel," Earth warned.

* * *

><p>Hirokazu made it to the bottom of the huge building and rushed out on to the street. He'd seen her sucked up through time, but he refused to believe that she was dead. He couldn't handle the idea of another innocent losing their life. As everyone up top began to speculate, he was searching desperately for any sign of Hotaru. He was throwing bodies aside when he heard movement.<p>

He jolted up and dashed for the sound, stopping when he saw the figure.

Hotaru.

It took all of his strength to not call out to her as loud as he could. He just ran to her and dropped to his knees.

"Hotaru? Hotaru!" She didn't feel cold. Her skin wasn't as pale anymore, though she still looked like she needed some sun. "Hotaru, wake up."

"I guess some left over nano-meds reconstructed her body for her," Earth said. Hirokazu was too thrilled to even care he was about to be confined to his room for the rest of his life. "Sailor Saturn must have not gone through at the last moment."

"She doesn't have a home anymore, mother. May we bring her with us?" He looked up at her expectantly. "She is royalty, and the Moon will only see to her execution."

Earth nodded. That had been her intentions, anyway. Hirokazu looked as though his birthday had come early and picked her up. She was a little heavier than she used to be, but that was fine.

"Okay. Come on, Hotaru. Let's go home."

Everything would be okay now.


	19. Chapter 19

He woke with a start and rolled over in his bed. The canopy greeted him once more and he remembered that he wasn't in the motel anymore.

Hirokazu groaned and sat up. It had been perhaps three months since the entire incident of Sailor Saturn. Last he had heard, the Outer Sailor Soldiers had returned to their posts. Hotaru was now living in the castle with him and his family and he was confined to the castle. The furthest out he was allowed was the courtyard and that was only under heavy guard.

He didn't mind anymore. He was far less likely to get someone killed here, and he had the cute maid cleaning his room. He really couldn't ask for better.

Hotaru had the room at the other end of the corridor. Here, she regained her rightful title of Princess and his mother had promised that once she controlled the Moon, she would reestablish her crown for good.

Once they got her home and cleaned her up, it was discovered that her memory was blank of the events of the attack. The last thing she recalled was Hirokazu bringing her to the doctor. Once they convinced her that ethereal monsters had possessed her and her father, she had grieved. It was probably better than being burdened with the truth.

Hirokazu did everything with the princess. He knew what true, soul crushing depression was like and he wouldn't let her suffer that. Today, though, he had a special surprise for his friend.

Once he was dressed, he went to find her. It had taken a lot of time and effort for her gift to be delivered but he hoped it would be worth it.

He found her in the library with his mother's collection of books. Well, her collection of STOLEN books.

"Hotaru! Come, hurry!" He rushed over to her and grabbed her hand. She flushed as she always did, but he never brought attention to it now that he knew the reason. "I have a surprise for you!"

She tried to close the history book she was going through, but he'd have none of that. He yanked her up and began to drag her down the corridor to the other wing of the castle. They came to an unassuming door that was closed tightly.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You have to close your eyes!"

"But-"

"Close them!" he insisted. Once she had, he pushed the door open and pulled her inside. "Okay, look and tell me if you like it!"

She opened her eyes back up and inhaled sharply. Her lamp collection.

"How… how did you…?" She looked up to him with tears in her eyes as he walked over to a smaller, sturdier one to pick it up.

"I've been getting soldiers to bring these in for three months. Your home is under quarantine by the Moon, but Sailor Venus allowed them in, in secret of course. She does owe us a debt."

He handed it to her and smiled brighter. "We can have them moved to your room, if you'd like."

She pulled her long glove off with her teeth to run her hand over the body of the item and smiled as tears spilled out. "This is the best present I've ever gotten. I wish I could tell you more…"

Hirokazu frowned slightly. They had been asking repeatedly about what Sailor Saturn had meant about 'the priest', but Hotaru had no answer. "That doesn't matter. I want you to be happy again."

"This makes me happy," she assured.

He accepted that answer and went to lift one of the heavier lamps up for her. "Lead the way! I can't go outside today, so I'm going to move these for you!"

Hotaru laughed and began to lead him down the hall back to her room. They passed over the door that led to the throne and stopped. Hirokazu put the lamp down and leaned over to get a better look. Why was Sailor Mars here?

"Something's wrong." Hotaru sat the small one she carried on the ground gently as the prince made his way to the door as Sailor Mars stepped inside. Why was Sailor Mars here? Had there been a battle he didn't know of? Had… had something happened to his mother?

Mars had left the door cracked open and he stood still to listen.

"You're kidding me," Earth said in an almost-bored tone. "The Queen has what?"

"I do not lie," a new voice informed. Sailor Venus? "It is troubling. Along with other… inconsistencies I have noticed, we must act."

There was a long silence in which Hirokazu gulped. What was going on?

His mother sighed. "This explains what happened perfectly. I had suspicions, but nothing ever concrete until then. If Queen Serenity has truly done as you have said, I will work even harder to dethrone her." There was scraping as she must have lifted her sword up. "Do you truly need his help?"

"If we are wrong, it will be the only insurance we do not break our Oath. He is harmless to the royal family."

"Of course. Three months of preparation we could have had… I will send for him at once."

There was the sound of motion as someone must have bowed. Hirokazu motioned for Hotaru to go back up the stairs with him as he heard boots click towards the door.

"I… am unfamiliar in many ways to your customs. But, tell me" the queen urged "it IS considered bad form to forget what your own child looks like, correct?"

* * *

><p>Yukio was finally in one of the southern bases, where it was warm.<p>

Following the capture of his brother, he was finally able to meet in person with his commanders and was able to go where it was warm. Once winter was over, he was to head to America. But for now, it was rest.

He was sitting in his office, looking over various reports from spies and surveillance. He was trying to work on a plan of attack for when they would storm the various government buildings. A hostage plan, gather up as many important figures as they could.

The sharp knock pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked to the door. "What."

It wasn't a question so much as a dare. Who would be bothering him right now?

"General Yukio, we've captured an intruder, sir."

That caught his attention. He was on his feet and stormed to the door, hitting the button to open it with his fist. "An intruder?! Who the HELL let someone sneak in to my base?!" he demanded as the door came open.

Staring him in the face with a glare was Sailor Ara.

"She claims to know you, sir."

She wasn't transformed, but the way her pocket shifted told him she had her transformation item on her. He considered a moment to have her confined to one of the cells, but the thought that she might be his cousin stopped him.

"She is not a threat. I will see to it from here." He yanked her in to the room and shut the door once more. When he turned to face her, there was a knife to his throat. "Do not do that. Little girls should not play-" he grabbed her wrist and wrenched it behind her back "-with knives."

She dropped the blade and hissed in pain. "Monster."

"I am not the one who tried three months ago to destroy the world because four lunatics in short skirts were trying to kill me for no reason," he reminded. "Glass houses, child."

"Why didn't you have them vaporize me?" she demanded. "I AM a threat."

"Of course you are," he patronized. "Quite vicious. I fear my ankles will be chewed to ribbons at the pace you keep up with." But he never let her go.

When she finally stopped squirming, he loosened his grip. She struck his gut and hissed in pain as she grabbed her elbow. "Are you a wall?" she demanded and reached for her pocket. She then realized he had taken her transformation pen.

"No, I am simply stronger than you." He sat it on his high bookshelf, well out of reach. "Why are you here?"

"I want to kill you. Your queen broke my mother's heart when she killed my brothers in war," Safa explained. "This… will make it right."

"Two wrongs do not make it right, little girl. Tell your mother that when you return to Arae Castle."

She glared at him. "My mother is not from Arae Castle, my father is."

He faltered in mid step to the knife on the floor he planned to return to her. "Are you not Princess Camilla's daughter?"

"Your information network needs work. She is my aunt. My father is the crown prince, but Princess Camilla is next in line."

Yukio went pale. "Your father is Prince Alexander… which makes your mother Lady Ninah, cousin to Queen Serenity…"

"I guess you know more than I thought."

He grabbed her by the shoulders and held tight. "Your brothers… they were three and five when they vanished?"

She glared at him and tried to pull free, though he refused to let go. "So you DO know them! You monsters killed my older brothers!"

Yukio shook her, genuine tears in his eyes. "No, you stupid girl! Hirokazu and I _are_ your brothers!"

* * *

><p>Hirokazu stepped in to the war room where the Sailor Soldiers were waiting on him. Hotaru had trailed after, wanting to see what was going on.<p>

"Ladies. M-mother." Hirokazu bowed to them each in turn and faced the queen. "What, uh… what is wrong?"

"As much as it pains me to say this, Hirokazu, I need to send you on a mission."

His head perked up at the word 'mission'.

"Come again?" he wondered.

She sighed and leaned over a map of the castle. "It's a rather urgent mission. I need you to infiltrate the castle and locate Princess Serenity. And then return her here."

Hirokazu looked around at the Sailor Soldiers who stood in various places around the room before scratching the side of his neck. "Uh… what?"

"You are the only person capable of doing this safely and competently."

"Not that I am ungrateful for the opportunity to go outside again, but why me? And if Serenity is to be brought here, why did she not come with her guardians?" He motioned to the girls in the room.

"She is being held in an undisclosed room in the dungeons," Jupiter explained. "We have been instructed to not set foot there by the Queen herself."

"And you have that oath, yes… but why is she being held?"

There was silence as they wanted to avoid speaking. It was his mother who finally told him.

"She has been… arrested." She put her sword on the table and stared. "I know they speak the truth, because her companion has come with them. Perhaps his interference is the only thing that allowed them to safely escape. I may not enjoy their company… no, I do _not_ enjoy being around these four, but we are working together once more. I still have Oath to the Princess. I have sent word to Prince Endymion, and expect him by the evening."

"You work hard for one who allowed Princess Selene to escape," Mars accused.

"I was not under Oath to her. I am the one who destroyed her engagement, remember?"

Jupiter had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep the snorting laugh to a minimum. "When you implied you and she were in love?"

"I believe my exact words were we had been in relations," the queen pointed out.

"DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT, THANK YOU!" Hirokazu shouted as he covered his ears. "AH! I have a vivid imagination, you are RAPING IT!"

"The Queen has presented the populace with a woman identical to her daughter, but these four are convinced she is an imposter. She may be using the crystal to alter the fake's appearance. You are to go in as a servant and look for the real princess."

Hirokazu pulled his hands away and looked at her. "I am to what? A servant?"

"I will have you requested to me," Mars assured. "Servants do not take an Oath, only Sailor Soldiers."

He shook his head. "What if I'm found out?"

"The companion is assuring me that nothing of the sort will happen. As you can't see him, he cannot lead any of you to her." Earth straightened as a maid entered the room to whisper to her. She nodded and dismissed them. "Find the needle in the haystack, son. Now, if you would not mind, I am called to the tea room. Endymion has arrived early."

"One question, mother. Why… why are you so certain of their claims? Something only you can see? Do you not see how mad that makes you sound?" Hirokazu asked as Hotaru stepped aside for the queen.

"Three months ago, Queen Serenity arrived here and ordered me to help kill Sailor Saturn. I attacked her and could easily have killed her. As you can see, I am still transformed." Everyone stared at one another in disbelief. "I only had suspicions before that, but now I am sure. The woman on the throne is not Queen Serenity."

She made it to the door and looked back at them.

"It's an imposter."


	20. Chapter 20

Yukio sat in his chair with his entire body shaking. He had sent away the soldiers to training which left him and Safa.

His little sister.

It wasn't impossible, strictly speaking. It was entirely possible his parents had more children. And why not? If his aunt could not produce heirs, his father took the crown and he would need heirs of his own. Everyone was convinced that he and Hirokazu were killed a thousand years ago.

Even the Sailor Soldiers didn't seem to know him. He'd always wondered why they hadn't remembered him. Well, why should he think they would? A thousand years is a long time to be gone, and he dyed his hair black to hide his heritage from the people he commanded. It wasn't as if their names were uncommon, either.

He was doubled over and stared hard at the floor. For the first in a very long time, he felt like a child again. He had grown up quickly, forced himself to understand the difficult concepts of war. They had been planning to turn him and his brother in to MONSTERS, for Gods' sake! If he could be valuable as a human, he could keep them from transforming his brother!

All those emotions he had works so hard to be rid of were welling back up in the tears in his eyes.

"A sister… a _sister_… a Sailor Soldier who sought to avenge me…"

He eventually grabbed his desk to force himself to sit upright and saw Safa there. She no longer glared at him with hatred and had lessened her face to a frown. He knew she was still having trouble believing him.

"If you are my brother, why have you not come home?" she demanded again.

"I… I have to stay. Hirokazu would not leave the only home he has ever known."

"His mother is Sailor Earth, how can you expect me to believe he is my brother as well?"

Yukio bit his lip. "He was so young when we were taken, he barely remembers mother or father at all," the general explained. "He needed a parent and he found one in her. She has only been good to him. Even… when we were to lose, she planned to have him taken away from the castle in safety. But… because I…"

"If you had come back, he would have had a mother!" she reminded. He snapped his head up.

"Do not speak as if you understand! I have given up all hopes of ever returning to my family to keep him safe! To repent!"

They glared at one another until Yukio sighed and slouched back down in his seat. "Apologies, little sister. Today has been… unexpected."

She stood up and marched to him which took him by surprise. She had a handful of his hair in her hands and pulled hard.

"What in hell?!"

"If you are my brother, why do you not have White Gold hair? A mark of the royal family?" she insisted.

"It is a dye! Let go before you yank it out!"

They struggled back and forth for a moment, cursing until he put his heel in her gut and kicked her off. She hit the door with a heavy thud. They glared at one another before Yukio put his hand to his face and began to laugh.

"What do you find amusing?!" Safa demanded.

"You… you are just like H-Hirokazu! God truly is a sadist that he would make TWO of you!" The thought was almost too much for him. When she tried to give him a withering look, he held the desk to keep from falling over with laughter. "No! No! No more, I be-heh-heh-eg you!"

She hit him as hard as she could. In his laughing state, he was knocked over and took some of his framed pictures with him. The photograph of Sailor Venus, which had, in actuality, been a surveillance picture, landed on his chest. Safa picked the other up and looked at it.

"…this is Hirokazu," she acknowledged. "He doesn't have white gold hair… his is more dull. When mother would talk about him… she always said it was a joke, that she and father teased that his paternity lied with one of the servants."

Yukio sat up and nodded. "He took after father. Or, I think he did. It's been a very long time since I have seen them close."

There was a knock on the door. "Enter."

A soldier stepped in, holding a paper in his hands. "General Yukio, you have orders from the Lady Earth."

He stood up to accept it, but Safa was closer. She took it from the man and handed it to Yukio. It was the first nice gesture she'd done for him.

"Dismissed." Yukio glanced over the orders and clenched his teeth. "No. What is she thinking!"

"What is it?"

"She is sending Hirokazu on a mission, to the Moon Castle itself!"

* * *

><p>Hirokazu was packing a bag, not knowing how long he would be gone again. They were hoping it would be for only a few days, but following his five months on the surface, he wanted to be prepared.<p>

"Try to not leave the castle confines," Mars warned as she sat in his reading chair. "If anyone asks you to do something, apologize and tell them I summoned you and come back at once."

They'd been speaking for nearly ten minutes as the prince got his most common-looking clothing out. He only nodded at her words.

"The dungeons are located beneath the castle, there's only one known entrance. The night-staff are rarely bothered, though, so I would suggest you do most investigations then."

"And you are certain that Serenity is being held there?" he demanded. His bag flew from its position on the bed to the wall. It hit was a soft thud and crumpled to the floor, clothing strewn everywhere. "Right."

He began repacking and zipped the bag up, slinging it over his shoulder. "How do we arrive at our destination?" he wondered.

"Endymion will escort us back." Mars was up and walking to his door to leave the room. "Once your mother finishes speaking with him we will be on our way."

He nodded and intended to speak with Hotaru before he left, but one of the guards took him by the arm and led him to the tea room.

"Uh, what is this?" he wondered. The door opened and he was brought inside to see his mother, a man who must have been Endymion, and four guards he did not know. "Oh… h-hello."

"This is the boy I was telling you of, Prince Endymion." Earth motioned to him. "This is my son."

Endymion looked at him as though he wasn't sure what to expect with the boy. It didn't take Hirokazu long to figure out why the man seemed uncomfortable. This castle was the place he had grown up, before Queen Metallia took over and drove them out.

"You are the one who is to locate my fiancée?" Hirokazu nodded. "I am unsure as to what I should make of you. Are you even capable of such a mission?"

"Probably not. But I can probably do a better job than you have so far."

The man with long white hair stood. "How dare you speak like that?!"

"Kunzite. This is neither the time nor the place." Endymion motioned with his hand. "The boy is nervous, let him speak his mind so long as he does his job."

"Prince Endymion assures me that you will be in… as little danger as possible. I have no reason to believe he will turn against me," his mother promised.

Hirokazu looked between the two. "We are enemies."

"No. The Dark Kingdom wars against the Moon, and the Moon alone. We have no qualms against the people of Earth. We have never attacked them. Besides," she took a sip of her tea "I used to be his personal guard. The four you see here were to have been my subordinates."

"The Sailor Soldiers and I are your source of safety for this mission. We are going to spread the story that you are a Lower Caste who needs money and food," the Earth Prince explained. "Whoever the Lady of Light has chosen to take place of her daughter is not suited to the job. But the populace accepts her. She is nothing like Serenity."

"No, there are few like my cousin."

That confused Endymion. "Cousin?"

"Ask my brother, he would know more of it that I. I am ready to leave, mother."

Sailor Earth nodded and stood up to hug him. "I do not know when you will return, and I will worry extensively. I have informed your brother of our plan. If something happens, seek out our spies to return."

"It seems you have every emergency covered," the guard with short hair replied.

"I do not recall seeking your opinion, Jadeite."

She let Hirokazu go and he nodded. Though he wanted to tell Hotaru goodbye, he knew he had to leave. The sooner he began, the sooner he could come home.

* * *

><p>Yukio stormed through the castle, shoving any who did not move in time aside. He was raging, furious, he hadn't been this angry at the queen in a thousand years. Dark Energy in the air around him electrified and threw the throne room doors open. Three maids and a butler who had the misfortune of being in the room at the time fled through a hidden opening used by the staff.<p>

Sailor Earth looked up at him with an arched brow. "Yes, General?"

"What in HELL are you THINKING?!" he shrieked as the doors slammed shut behind him. The crash echoed throughout the castle. "Sending my brother behind enemy lines?!"

"Ah. I see you received my orders, then."

He grit his teeth until his jaw ached. "DO NOT ACT SO NONCHALANT! You bitch, you're setting my brother, your 'son', up to be killed! Do you not even care?!"

She glared at him. "You will watch your tongue in my presence, General Yukio. I remind you this is not our war for the crown, and I am no longer injured. You could not hope to take me in a fight."

He was willing to try. However, he knew better than to do so. She was right – she was a better fighter while transformed. She had powers he could not hope to match.

"Why?"

"He is to find the captured Princess Serenity. The imposter on the throne has jailed her."

This was news to him. His eyes went wide. "Imposter?"

"At some point, the Lady of Light was replaced. Looking back, I should have seen the signs. Her mental activity was… erratic and strange. Right around the time Princess Selene left the Moon." She leaned back in her throne and ran her hand along the rim of her crown that sat on the arm.

"I did not pay attention. But it makes sense. Her sanction against the Earth, her willingness to 'purify' a kingdom of innocents. Her continued attacks more than four centuries after we stopped openly warring against her."

"Then why did you not end her life a thousand years ago?" he demanded. "This war would be over, Ukito would not have died."

"As I said, I did not notice. I was too busy being corrupted by dark energy." Her voice said it didn't bother her, but he could tell it still did. She once said she was so dependent of the energy she kept accumulated in the throne room that losing it would cost her life.

"Why my brother?" He gained a sister on this day, would he lose his brother in exchange?

"Your brother has a stubborn nobility about him. He protects people he feels needs it, and he has a soft spot for pretty girls," she explained. "He is reluctant to harm or kill unless he feels it is necessary. Dear God, the boy is a gardener. He is not a threat to the queen Serenity, and if we are wrong about an imposter, it does not break the Oath we took."

"If she captures him, she will execute him."

"Well, then, I suppose he had best not be captured."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu could not contain his excitement of seeing the Moon Castle for the first time in a thousand years.<p>

"I remember this!" he announced. "The fountains, the gardens, all of it!"

He sat in the carriage with the blonde guard, Jadeite. They had left separate from the others to curb suspicion and were now heading on their way. "It all looks the same."

"We'll be arriving soon. Remember, you're a commoner, not a prince."

The prince only half-listened. He wanted to explore the place his brother used to tell him stories about.

As the carriage came to a halt, Sailors Mars and Jupiter were there to meet it. That was good, less contact with soldiers the better. He climbed out with a smile still on his face.

"This place is AWESOME!" he announced. His tone shifted from 'royalty' to 'commoner' quickly. He was used to hiding his heritage. "I can't wait!"

The two nodded and Mars motioned that he should follow her while a butler took his belongings to where he would be staying.

"We've informed our Queen of Light of your coming, Hiro," she announced using his shortened name. "I have requested you to stay with me as my servant, as I am unable to spare many from Castle Phobos-Deimos."

He nodded and looked around. He remembered this hallway, where he and his brother would run up and down for hours. He could almost hear his brother yelling at him to slow down. There was a table with a vase on it that had a large crack in it. He reached up to rub his head and smiled. He had run in to that table, head first, and broke the vase.

It was a tidal wave of nostalgia.

The door to the throne room was open and inside he could see many people filtering about. At the throne could only be Queen Serenity. He'd heard stories of her, he didn't remember ever seeing her before. She had the same white gold hair as her daughter, but her age was obvious. Shouldn't she have stepped down by now?

The entire throne room was covered in tapestries from ceiling to floor. He didn't remember that. He looked from the queen to the princess and hid a frown. She didn't seem anything like his cousin, something in her eyes. He knew the Sailor Soldiers were right. Something had happened. This black-haired girl was not Princess Serenity. Why, then, did the population accept her as such?

"Queen of Light," Mars began as she bowed "this is the new servant, Hiro. He is Lower Caste and is in need of work. His family was destroyed by those monsters seven months ago."

Hirokazu looked to the ground. He knew it would be rude to stare at her.

'_Now, how am I to make my way to the dungeons? Tonight? On the other hand, should I wait a few days and situate myself with a regular patrol? I'd like to explore this place further, as well._'

He continued his thoughts, only half listening to the conversation.

"-ight, Hiro?" Mars asked. "Hiro!"

He jumped slightly. "Oh, uh, yeah."

The 'princess' laughed. "Is he stupid?" she demanded.

Hirokazu scratched the back of his head and did his best to not glare at the girl. No, she wasn't Serenity. His cousin was not this cruel. "Uh, sorry. It's really pretty here, I got caught up looking at everything. Sorry."

The excuse seemed to placate them.

"I would ask him assigned to me," Mars continued. "I am unable to spare any from my own castle."

The queen stared at them for long moments, until Hirokazu felt uncomfortable.

"I am afraid I cannot grant your request, Sailor Mars. I have already received a request to transfer staff to another area of the castle. You may have him in the year."

Hirokazu felt his heart seize.

'_DAMN!_'


	21. Chapter 21

No one argued over it, an argument could easily be their last. Hirokazu stood there with a blank look on his face, feigning indifference.

"Oh. Okay, that's cool. I was just hoping to be with the pretty one, is all," he admitted. "Work's work."

Inside, he was raging. '_A year?! Where am I to be placed?! Can I even continue my investigation?_'

"His things have been placed," the queen continued. She looked to another staff member. "Escort him to his destination."

Mars seemed upset but Hirokazu ignored it. He walked out with the man and followed him down a long corridor. He must have been heading for a residential area. That still worked in his favor, but still. How would he locate the princess if he was actually working?

'_God, if this is punishment for breaking that vase and blaming it on the butler, my apologies._'

The man opened a door and the prince stepped inside. It shut behind him and he looked up to see a man sitting at a table over a cup of tea.

"Oh, you've arrived quickly," he greeted. Hirokazu nodded and waved a little. Was this one of the enemy generals? He looked very familiar. "I sent the request in just a few days ago. One of our attendants grew ill and had to be sent home. It will be close to a year before his replacement can arrive."

"That's cool. Oh, I-I'm Hiro," he said. He was a little surprised by the handshake, having figured the man would want little contact with a 'Lower Caste'. "I'm from Japan."

"Yes, the queen explained you lost your family when the Gnosis attacked. You look older than I would have guessed."

"Well, I lost my parents and brother, so…"

The man nodded. "Of course. Here, your quarters." He opened a door near the entrance. It was large enough for maybe two people and had a bed and dresser. His bag was already there. "You'll mostly be attending my wife. She is bed-ridden and has been for centuries."

Hirokazu took a small crystal the man handed him and examined it in the light. "Centuries?"

"Depression, a broken heart. Whatever you wish to call it. She does move around some, but never for long. She needs help most days, particularly when I am gone," he explained. "I felt you would need some time to adjust to your new living conditions, so I will be here for a fortnight. However, when I am gone she is your responsibility."

He nodded and pocketed the crystal. "So, uh… this is for…?"

"She uses it to summon when she needs aid."

That made sense. "I've got to say, you're friendlier than I expected."

The man laughed. "Because you are Lower Caste? I am not native to this system, I have no quarrels with your people. Many Lower Caste I have met have been nothing but polite. Maybe it is because of my station? Regardless, I am sure your reputation as being all supporters of the Dark Kingdom to be exaggerated."

Hirokazu had nothing to say to that.

"But, please do not mention that place to my wife. It is a sore topic. Now, Hiro," the man walked to one of the back rooms. "My daughter may be returning tonight, I hope to introduce you later. You should get used to the castle layout."

"Yeah. I'll be back later, sir."

With that, Hirokazu was out of the room to find Sailor Mars. He closed the door behind him and sighed. This was not going well. At least the person he had met was polite.

He didn't have to look far, Mars was around the corner. "I'm sorry about this," she muttered. "I didn't know they had put in their own request."

"It's okay. I've got a couple weeks before I have to buckle down. Plenty of time."

Mars seemed unsure and looked the way he had come from. "I'll have to get my own staff in. I didn't know it was them. The Lady is bedridden and unable to cope most days. If you're here, they will not be seeking more staff."

Hirokazu scratched the back of his head. "It's really as bad as he implied?"

She nodded and he crossed his arms. There was an awkward silence between them before Mars turned and left. Probably to warn the others about the change of plans. He just continued on his way, looking around the castle. More memories came back to him as he did.

"I colored on the wall here. With paint." He knelt down to examine and saw with some satisfaction that his handiwork was still visible, even a thousand years later. At the corner of the baseboard you could see some droplets of the offending paint. Running his hand along it, he stood back up.

'_Mama said she wanted tea,_' Yukio had informed him once. They were supposed to have been under lockdown, but Yukio had snuck out to the kitchens and Hirokazu had followed him. That was how they had arrived in the Dark Kingdom to begin with.

He looked down the hall and moved several feet to a wall. He pushed on the panel and watched with satisfaction as it opened up. One of the secret pathways in the castle that he and his brother frequently used.

His mind wandered to the woman he was supposed to be helping. It was still midday, he couldn't begin any actual investigation until night fell and the castle slept. Didn't Yukio once say their mother was sickly herself?

He wandered off to the kitchens, finding his way by hazy memories. When he looked up, there was Sailor Jupiter in her royal dress.

"Oh, uh… hi."

She looked at him with disappointment on her face. Her look said it all. '_I'm sorry our plan isn't working out._'

"Uhm… I need some tea. F-for the Lady I'm supposed to be helping…? Can you put some honey with it?"

She nodded and went to prepare it while he sat on a chair. "Hot, right?"

Hirokazu nodded and picked up an apple to eat while he waited. Once the cup was in front of him he picked it up and went to bring it back to the room. He'd have to come back to raid the pantry for honey later. It was rare to get back home, and was the only sweet he really liked in large quantities.

He moved the door open and stepped in to see the man sitting and reading. He looked up.

"Is something wrong, Hiro?"

Hirokazu nodded and searched for the words. "This's for your wife." He motioned to the tea cup. "My brother said my mom used to be sick a lot and liked it, so…"

The man smiled. "I was just about to send for you to bring some. Are you sure you are not a telepath?" he asked with a laugh.

The prince nodded and held it out. "There's honey in it, I hope that's okay."

"It's just how she likes it. Thank you, young man."

Hirokazu bowed and walked to his own living quarters. The rooms were all set up the same as best he knew, and there would be a hidden door against the wall to allow him access through the castle without being seen by visiting royalty.

He looked in and saw his bag laying open. That was odd, considering he hadn't been in here yet, but expected. He was 'Lower Caste' from Earth. Chalk it up to Queen Serenity's famous paranoia.

He began putting his things away. He couldn't focus on anything right now and decided to roam tonight when everyone else was asleep. A check of the hidden door showed it worked well, the hidden corridor was large enough for two people to walk through.

Once his clothes were put away and his books hidden from view, he stepped in to the corridor to begin marking pathways. He did, after all, need to be back by sunrise each morning, and it wouldn't do to be lost in a maze like a rat.

Speaking of rats, one ran over his foot. He yelled and jumped against the wall as he tried to kick it off. A black cat ran up and snatched it in its mouth.

"Oh… oh thank god. Good kitty," he panted. He knelt down to pet it but it stared at him. How eerie, it was like the cat was sizing him up. "Where'd you get a baldspot like that?"

The black cat with the crescent moon spot seemed to snub him and saunter off with her tail high in the air.

"…was it something I said?"

* * *

><p>The Lady Earth sat back in the tea room with Endymion. He spent as much time away from the Moon as he could with the imposter princess still on the loose. Now that the Dark Kingdom was his ally in this, he had to reconnect with his rogue bodyguard.<p>

"Is it true you struck the queen?" he wondered.

"It is. Mind you, I didn't know she was an imposter until the moment I realized I was still transformed." She took a long sip from her cup. "I was simply beyond caring at that point. I figured, 'if I kill her, Hirokazu takes my throne and Serenity hers'. Some days, it feels as though the only peace will come from our mutual deaths."

Endymion leaned back in his chair. "As depressing as ever."

"I don't recall asking you for your thoughts."

He laughed. "It is refreshing to have a conversation with someone who is willing to speak their thoughts. Being a prince, I have far too many who agree with me mindlessly."

"Those four are perfect examples." She took another sip and glanced at her bookshelf. "I still have no love for them. Perhaps rebelling was in their best interests, I'd have run them to the ground given half a chance."

"I don't doubt it. You and Jadeite never saw eye-to-eye on anything." He placed his cup on the table and stood to move to that very same shelf. "You… never changed the books?"

"Never saw a need. I like them. Though I have added a new wing to the library for the new ones that filter in."

He pulled a book out and opened it to flip through the ancient pages. Closing it once more, he put it back and turned to where she sat. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you turn against us? Had you fought alongside us, none of the sanctions would have happened."

"You, Endymion, are a mind washed fool. The sanctions would have happened regardless of my side. I think you mean to ask, 'why did I leave you'?"

He said nothing.

"I saw a corrupt hand controlling the people of this world. I saw people accept abrupt changes to their lives as normal. Forced from your home with a small child to live on the streets because a noble wanted your home? That's fine, thank you for not KILLING ME."

She knocked a book off the table. "That is unacceptable! I wanted the people of the Moon to see the people of the Earth as their equals. Anything else you believe is a load."

"If your heart lies with the interests of my people, then-"

"I will not return to your service, Endymion. Ever."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu had been in the library when he felt the crystal burn.<p>

Perhaps 'burn' was not the most appropriate word, it grew warm in his pocket, enough that he noticed.

Whatever the case, he left at once, taking the servant corridor and followed his markings back to his room. Why were they calling for him? He shouldn't have to worry about that for a while, if the man had been right.

Oh, he was probably a general. He must have been leaving for battle, or to see his troops, and Hirokazu would need to be on call. This kind of thing happened.

Once back in his room, he pushed the panel closed and heard voices on the other side of the door to the living quarter.

"Yes, he should be here in a moment, dear," the man said. "He's a thoughtful lad, brought your mother tea."

Oh. He was going to introduce Hirokazu to his child. Probably a daughter, by his tone. Whatever. Hirokazu opened the door up and stepped out.

"You called for me, sir?" he wondered when he froze.

"Ah, yes. Hiro, I want you to meet my daughter. She has been spending much time on Earth, so you may not see her again. But, I wanted to make sure you met, so you know she is allowed in the room while I am away."

She froze at the sight of him, too.

"Of course. Yeah, hi, I-I'm Hiro." He held his hand out with a fake smile on his face.

"Father, this is the new boy?"

Her father smiled. "I know he's not Christopher, but you'll manage without your favorite around."

She nodded. "Yes, father."

"Well, Hiro, I should allow you time to get to know one another."

That wouldn't be necessary, he wanted to say. After all, he knew Safa quite well already.

'_Damn._'


	22. Chapter 22

As soon as Safa's father left them room, she turned to Hirokazu. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. Hirokazu did not answer her at first; he was far too busy making sure she wasn't armed.

"Well, right now I'm making sure you aren't gonna slit my throat." Once satisfied, he dropped his voice to a whisper. "What am I doing here? I could be halfway to gone, had the queen not placed me here."

Safa ran her hands down her face and paced back and forth. "This is… coincidence. Nothing more. That she would place you _here_ of all places…"

Hirokazu stared at her. "What are you babbling about, woman?" he demanded.

"Why are you here?"

"What will keep you from slitting my throat in the middle of the night? I will tell you that."

She shook her head. "No! I mean… _here_. This room, this family."

He was confused. "Uh… I don't really know. I was supposed to be with the Lady Mars, but… the queen said this family needed a new servant for the year. I… uh, saw the error of my ways? I mean to… repent?"

She became frustrated at his attitude. "I know of your mission, I was with your brother when he received the orders."

Hirokazu lashed out and grabbed her by the arm. He dragged her in to his quarters and held her against the wall so she could not escape.

"If you have harmed my brother in any way, Safa, you will beg for death before I am finished with you," he threatened. It was all false bravado on his part, but he looked menacing enough to pull it off.

"You… you don't know? You have been here nearly a full day and you are unaware?" she asked in astonishment. "Well, yes, father did say you were exploring."

He dropped her and rubbed his temples. There was a faint sound echoing through the Servant Corridor that was giving him a headache. "Again, woman, what are you babbling about?"

Safa looked to the door and then back to him. "I didn't believe him at first, Yukio that is. I figured it was just his way of putting me off my guard. I went to him, I wanted to talk. So I tracked him down. It was very difficult, you of… your kingdom are good at covering your tracks. But, I found him in the end and went to speak with him."

Hirokazu folded his arms to listen.

"He let me in, he didn't have me arrested, even though he knew I was a Sailor Soldier. He stripped me of my pen and we had a brief conversation, when he mentioned my aunt, mistaking her for my mother."

"I fail to see why this is relevant."

"Just… be silent and listen! I corrected him, that Lady Camilla is my aunt. And then… I saw recognition in his eyes. He knew far more than even the top general of the enemy army should have known."

She looked at Hirokazu and he stepped back in surprise as she reached out to run her hands through his short hair. "Personal space!"

"I know he wasn't lying now that I see you together. My brothers… they weren't killed by your people," she explained. "You, and Yukio… you _are_ my brothers."

He froze in place. "…come again?"

"Yes. Yukio said you may not believe me if I were to tell you, and to give you space to complete your mission. But… if you're here…"

He shook his head and stepped back, breaking her contact with his hair. "No. No, you are… mistaken. My home is the Dark Kingdom, the Lady Earth is my mother." His body trembled with the knowledge as he tried to make himself not believe it. That was why the man looked so familiar, why Hirokazu thought he was a general… he looked like Yukio.

"This isn't… it's not true." He put his hands on his face and slumped down to the ground. His entire world was breaking around him.

Safa reached out to pat his shoulder, but he balked at her touch. He'd been convinced his family had long forgotten him and had thrown himself entirely to the Lady Earth as his mother, but according to Safa they not only remembered him, they still grieved his 'death'. Now he was torn. Did he continue his allegiance to the Dark Kingdom, or should he return to his true home?

"I… I understand this is a lot to absorb. J-just come with me. It is almost time for dinner." She walked to the door and he forced himself to stand up on shaky legs to walk out of the room. "Father will have left to eat already. Come."

She pushed the door to the bedchamber open and he saw a figure asleep on her side. Safa indicated they should whisper. "Mother has grown worse over the years… she mistakes the servants for you or your brother all the time. Here, speak with her."

He wanted to back out of the room and shook his head, but Safa would not have it.

"Mother? I have someone who wishes to speak with you," she said, gently shaking the woman awake. She had the same white gold hair as Yukio and it almost vanished against her pillowcase.

"Oh… Safa? Are you well, dear?" their mother asked as she reached out.

Safa nodded. "Mother, Hirokazu is here. He wishes to say hello."

Hirokazu didn't really know what to say and yelped as Safa yanked him over in to view. He remembered this person very well. "Oh, uh… hello, mother. It is… good to see you are well?"

She smiled and reached out to him, running her hand over his cheek. "Where have you been, child?" she asked.

"I've… been elsewhere. With Yukio." She brightened at the mention of his brother. "I've had to… hide. However, I'm okay. No one can lay a hand on me; I am far too… clever."

He looked to Safa to indicate he had no idea what he should say. She elbowed him.

"We… we are okay. We can't come home yet, but maybe once the war is over."

His mother frowned at that. "You should bring your brother back with you. I asked him for tea days ago and he still has not returned."

Hirokazu nodded. "I will… look for him. With your permission, mother." He moved from her line of sight and left the room quickly. Safa followed once Ninah fell back asleep.

"Thank you. No one will believe she truly spoke with you, but it makes me feel better." She put a hand to his shoulder once more, but he balked once again.

"Asking me to return to a life I have long since given up, what kind of fool are you? I have a mission to complete, and then I leave," he reminded. "My mother is the Lady Earth, not a frail noble bound to her bed."

He slammed his door shut behind him as he stormed in to his quarters and made way through the corridor. He had to find Serenity.

* * *

><p>Yukio sat at his desk going through papers. Each base was reporting in as ready. Their holding cells had been refitted after nearly a year. Once the attack began, they would be able to hold the high-ranked officials from the Moon.<p>

It was a hostage plan. Hold everyone of importance in one location and release them if their demands were met. He was sure the so-called 'queen' would still refuse. This would show the people her true colors.

He looked up from his work as one of the soldiers walked in. "We've got too many new recruits," Yukio warned. "We are months away from attacking, and half of them are still shitting themselves when guns fire."

The soldier said nothing but nodded.

"Step up training. Get as many as you can up to live artillery in a month. Any who aren't combat ready are being shipped back home to guard the castle." He sighed. He realized they were stretched thin, but sending the most inexperienced he had to guard the castle had to be a suicide plan. He could only hope the queen could fight off any invaders who made it through.

The soldier stepped out to relay the orders. No sooner than the door closed, Yukio received a communication. He hit the button, fully expecting it to be the Lady Earth. The hologram that popped up was Safa.

"Oh. You." He ran a hand through his hair and stared. "What is it?"

"There's a problem," she warned.

"Do not tell me that. I have enough problems of my own. If it is bad enough, go back to Castle Arae," he offered.

Safa shook her head. "It has to do with Hirokazu."

Yukio was on his feet at once, slamming his hands on the desk. The girl flinched. "What has happened to him?!"

"He's fine. I tried to avoid him, but… there's been a change in his plans." She inhaled deeply. "You said he was supposed to be with Sailor Mars, but… the queen placed him elsewhere."

"Stop trying to gently tell me this news! What has happened to my brother?!"

She flinched again and nodded. "He's been placed with us."

"…'us'?"

"He's our servant. Ours." Yukio stared without comprehension as his mind raced to process the news. "With our family. His parents."

Yukio's hands gripped the desk with enough force that he felt the wood strain. He didn't know what to feel at that specific moment. Relief? Anxiety? Jealousy?

"Father doesn't recognize him, and Mother rambles of seeing him so often I can't tell if she truly knows who he is or not."

He put his hand on a downturned picture frame and said nothing for a long time.

"I'm… I'm keeping an eye on him. I told him the truth, I apologize. I felt that he should at least know, and he should see mother. He reacted badly and has stormed away to complete his mission."

"That will return him to us quickly. And thank you. This is one thing I've always wanted for him." He stared ahead at a fixed point on the wall. "I always felt I would have to capture father and mother for it to come true."

He ended communication before she could continue on and sat down to lift the frame up. It was an old picture of himself and his parents, before his brother was born. It was the only one he had and he never allowed anyone else to see it.

"Lucky little bastard, Hirokazu… I wish I were in your place now."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu was alone in a forgotten corridor. He sat on the stone floor with his knees to his chest as he thought. His real parents were here, and his father didn't even know him. Of course, he'd grown up but he wanted a reason to hate them. It would be easier on him to have no emotional ties at all. His mother was Sailor Earth. He couldn't just throw that away.<p>

The woman in the bed seemed kind, at least. She had that same white gold hair that marked her as royalty and a kind face. She seemed to share a personality with Princess Serenity. Could he get to know them, or would he have to leave them behind again when he returned home.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost missed it. A cloud of dust billowed up from nowhere and he took it as a sign that the so-called 'ghost' was near. That was when he heard voices and footsteps. Luck had it that he was in a small nook just out of sight. Two men in a uniform he had never seen before walked past, talking to one another.

"Neither one will talk. I expect it from the priest, but the fake princess is holding better than I thought she would."

As they moved onward, Hirokazu crept out. He came to the realization that he could feel dark energy from one of them. His crystal was stuck somewhere on the taller man.

'_How the hell did it even get here?_' he wondered. His eyes widened. When his back was knocked off his bed back home, the 'ghost' must have placed it without his knowledge. That was why it was ransacked when he got back to his room!

He followed the two as silently as he could, ducking in to each nook as he came upon them.

"The interrogator said the priest acts out when we try to question her. Separate them," the other guard instructed.

So, they'd kidnapped one of the priests. Had it been High Priest Helios, he'd have been told by his mother. But why kidnap one anyway? Did the queen Serenity suspect an uprising from them? Whatever was happening, the priest was protecting the princess.

They came to a dead end and the prince watched as one unlocked the end section of the wall and swung it open like a door. He rushed it and got in before it could close.

"What the hell?!" The guard turned in time to take a blow to the face that knocked him down. The other ran for the alarm, but Hirokazu had retrieved his crystal and used it to sap his energy. He stood over the two in a moment of triumph before retching. The stench in this place made him want to vomit.

"God… what level of hell is this?" he wondered. He ripped the sleeve off of one of the guards and held it to his nose as he walked on. It was dimly lit, but only a few of the cells seemed to have been occupied.

"Serenity?" He stood outside one cell and glanced in. It was hard to tell, her body was covered in bruises and healing wounds, and there was barely any rags that could give modesty, but she had that same peaceful look when she slept.

Hirokazu grabbed the bars to the cell and tugged once before he felt exhausted. The metal they used drained energy at a touch.

"You will not make much progress without a key, young man," a new voice warned. He turned to the cell behind him and walked over to it. A thin figure was chained in the very back. He had much older wounds and his skin was more black and purple than flesh-colored. Dried blood coated much of him. Clearly, he had spent years here.

"Well, I say 'key'. It is a crystal that renders you immune to the metal. I believe your friend you got that sleeve from holds it." The man looked at him with yellow eyes.

"You are the priest they were talking about. What is your name?"

The priest smiled. "Demetrious, young prince. You… ARE still a prince, correct? Forgive my memories, they still have not come back in full force."

Hirokazu was confused. "How do you know I am a prince? What do you mean 'still' a prince?"

Demetrious kept smiling. He did nothing but smile, it seemed. "I suppose it is too much to ask that you remember me, you were… quite small the last we saw one another. Why, the last time I saw you… I was bleeding to death."

His eyes went wide and he had to stop himself from grabbing the metal bars of the cell.

"Ukito!"


	23. Chapter 23

"Ukito! Y-you're alive! How? I saw you die, mother saw you die!" Hirokazu informed. The priest just kept smiling.

"I was reborn a quarter century ago. Perhaps longer?" He shifted and hissed in pain. "One loses track of time in this place."

The prince stood there as his mind raced. He then grabbed the metal bars with the hand that held the crystal and proceeded to drain out their energy. "I'm bringing you with me."

It was long work, but he felt the levels begin to drop. Demetrious laughed.

"You are stubborn. Perhaps you take this from your mother."

"What has happened to you?" He would have to warn his mother before she saw him. He feared her retaliation against the Moon. "Why are you here?"

"I think you want to know what I have done to deserve being beaten to near death," Demetrious corrected. "It is… a long story."

"I have time. Your cell is not drained out, and I will have to drain Serenity's next. You are my priority right now."

"Well, as you can see, I was reborn to the priest caste. A failsafe it seems, should we die, we return. Our sealed memories could be detrimental in the wrong hands. My memories, however, returned early. I was ten years old when I began to recall my life before. Oh, the older priests knew I was a reincarnation, but we had lost so many to the Dark Kingdom they did not know who."

He hissed in pain again. Hirokazu worried he had several broken bones, maybe even a nasty infection.

"At seventeen, I knew enough. Before they would read my dreams and find out whom I was, I fled. The information I hold would have destroyed your mother, my friend and 'sister'. I fled the castle and made my way to Japan. I found a sleeping Sailor Soldier, a little girl who was dying."

"You were the priest they spoke of! The one who fit Hotaru with the cybernetic parts!"

Demetrious nodded. "So you've met her. Yes, I had helped your mother repair herself before, so I had knowledge of such things. I fit the child with them. She was very sweet, very grateful. I never gave them my name, once I finished my work, I returned to America. I began to take in war orphans, returning them to health and sending them on their way to the Dark Kingdom."

"So you are behind our influx of citizens."

"After I turned twenty-five, I was found by soldiers." Though he didn't stop smiling, it seemed darker. "I do not know how they found me, but they stormed my home and I was arrested. I do not know what happened to the children and I fear the worst."

"I am sure they are fine," Hirokazu promised as he grabbed the metal bars and yanked as hard as he could. The door flew open and he was in at once to free the man. "You need to be seen to. You may have infection, you most certainly have fever."

Demetrious seemed unsure as he stood. He yelled in pain when weight was placed on his left leg. "What of… Serenity? We c-cannot leave her."

Hirokazu nodded. He was here to save Serenity, but the opportunity to bring Ukito back had presented itself. However, as he stood there in thought, a feeling washed over him. He looked at the crystal in his hand and then to the unconscious princess. He tossed it at her and watched it land against her leg.

"She will be well until I return." Though he couldn't see the phantom, he knew it was there. "She has a guardian watching her."

* * *

><p>Yukio was walking through the base when he got word there were two men to see him. The soldier didn't know either of them, so it was very unusual. He'd been asked for by name, called in a rather disrespectful way. He opened the door while reading a report from the base in Russia when he heard the voice.<p>

"Do you think you can at least get him to medical, or are you going to stand there and do nothing?"

Yukio crumpled the paper and looked up to yell when he saw the two there. "Hirokazu? Why are you on Earth? You are supposed to be on the Moon!"

"I have a present for mother. I felt this took priority," the prince explained as he held the other man up. "He cannot walk, he needs food and a bath. Is it possible to feed him WHILST he bathes?"

The man smiled when he saw Yukio. "Hello again, general. You have not changed much in the past thousand years."

"You are… Ukito?"

"My name now is Demetrious, general. But, yes. I was once known by that name."

Hirokazu sat him down and Yukio was on his knees before him to see to what injuries he could. He looked to his brother. "If the Lady Earth sees him in this condition, she will march on the Moon."

"I'm aware. I found him in the dungeons with the princess. I could not free the both of them, but I know she will be safe until my return. Safa has spread a story that I had to return to Earth for family business." Hirokazu crossed his arms as Yukio grabbed a disinfectant to spray over the priest's wounds.

"Hold still!" he growled as he continued. "The worse it hurts tells me where you should be seen to first!"

Demetrious hissed in pain but it seemed he had no instinct to pull away from the pain. That just made things look worse to the brothers.

"How much did you have to go through?" Hirokazu asked.

"More than my fair share," the priest explained. "I would do my best to keep them from hurting the princess, and I would Dream Walk at night to take the horrors from her mind. Now that I am gone…"

Hirokazu put his hand on Demetrious' forehead. "She will be fine. Do not worry about her and focus your worry on yourself."

They worked on him for hours, finally getting his infections treated and got him cleaned up and in a spare uniform. He looked more like how they remembered him, but there would forever be differences in his appearance. His eyes were bigger, his jaw was shaped differently, his nose was bigger.

But his smile never changed. The Lady Earth would know him at once by his infuriating smile.

"I think he's good and ready to be presented to Mother." Hirokazu stuffed a book in his bag to return to the Moon with. "I should return. I will have the princess with me by the morning; have a room ready for her?"

Yukio nodded as he transmitted the message that there would be two important guests arriving in the Dark Kingdom soon. He went to arrange transportation when Safa's image formed on his desk. The brothers looked to her with curiosity.

"Safa?"

"Hirokazu, you must return at once!" she shouted once the sound allowed her. "They are to execute the princess!"

Hirokazu was on her image and got to his knees to be at eye level. "What?!"

"She has been deemed an agent of the Dark Kingdom and the queen has called for her execution, to be carried out by Sailor Venus! If she kills the princess, it will break her oath!"

"And she will lose her power, her age will catch up to her and she will die." Hirokazu stood up and moved to the doors. "Take Ukito home, and warn mother!"

Before Yukio could stop him, the prince was gone.

* * *

><p>The Lady Earth was sitting on her throne, staring at a single point on the wall. She did this frequently and for such long periods of time that some of the staff wondered if she slept with her eyes open.<p>

Her mind was saving its energy as she did, playing memories of Hirokazu growing up for her to entertain her while she was restored. Her dreams were disturbed when she came back to as a messenger entered the throne room. The man held a paper in his hands.

"My queen, you are needed at once to the medical recovery room. This is a request from the General."

With a sigh of exasperation, she stood up and walked down the corridor when the messenger spoke again. "It was requested that you not be transformed."

She turned to the messenger and glared. "You will inform General Yukio that I do not take orders from my subordinates."

As she made her way to the recovery room, she opened the door. "Dear General, how many times must you put yourself in here?"

The voice that replied was not what she was expecting. "I do believe this is my first trip here, in either life."

She froze and ran for the bed, almost toppling it in her rush. The color drained from her face until she was as white as her hair. The hand grabbed hers and he laughed. "You feel chilled, my lady. Perhaps a warm bath and an extra blanket on your bed?"

"Y-you idiot! How? How are you here? Ukito, you DIED!"

Demetrious laughed and then groaned as his ribs ached. He didn't stop smiling, though. "Had you not run away from the temple when you did, perhaps you would know our fail-safe? I was always scheduled for rebirth. Unfortunately, the Moon found me before you did."

Sailor Earth squeezed his hand until she feared she would break it. "They did this to you… they killed you once and then tried again…"

"My darling sister, you should not pile blame on the people who committed the action but the woman who willed it to be," Demetrious reminded. "This war was to destroy them, but now it is to free them."

He laughed again as she trembled and held on to him. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"I believe you have better things to dream of than myself, my lady. Do not waste the most pleasant experience of your day on me."

Nurses moved about, coming to check on Demetrious as the queen stood there for a long time, processing everything before her. When she couldn't wake up, she had to accept it as real. Then a memory came to her and she grabbed his collar.

"You said there was no such thing as reincarnation! Why did you lie?"

He took her hand and pulled it from him. "I did not want to see you throw your life away. You may be human, or you may not be. And if you are not human enough, you will not return. Their mothers and forbearers have returned. When the priests confirm their rebirth, they are placed elsewhere in the galaxy."

"You lied to me."

"I withheld the truth to keep you from sacrificing yourself. If you had died, so would the Dark Kingdom. Now, you are needed on the Moon."

She blinked and stood straight. "I am not leaving your side until you are well enough to walk on your own again."

"Princess Serenity is slated for execution." Sailor Earth glared at him, but he just smiled. "And now you are obligated to go. Because you know and if you turn your back on your duty, you lose your powers."

"You are infuriating!" she shrieked, slapping him hard across the face in anger. He just laughed at the pain.

"Clearly you have no understanding of what I went through for two years. Go. I will still be here when you return, perhaps I will have more memories to share with you from Ukito." He laid his head back on his pillow. "My name is now Demetrious, Lady Earth."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu shoved his way through people in the courtyard, where the guillotine stood. It had not been used since the invasion and only served as a reminder of the power the queen held over the people she ruled. Now, Serenity knelt before it, trying to free her wrists from being bound. He pushed his way past a servant boy who ran his hand over his own throat at the sight of it.<p>

A hand reached out to stop him and Safa pulled him back in to place. "What do you think you are doing? There are soldiers everywhere," she hissed.

Hirokazu broke free and forced people to part for him as dark energy swirled around him. A cry went up as the people came to the understanding of who he was.

"Let her go!" Hirokazu shouted. He grabbed energy from the air and threw it at one of the captors. It struck and burned, but the other pulled the princess before him as a shield. Three guards descended on him and held fast. "You aren't going to hurt my cousin!"

"A bold claim from Dark Kingdom scum. Bring him forth!" Queen Serenity ordered. "He will be next!"

Hirokazu elbowed one guard but was nearly subdued by the other two. He was shocked when a second, red mouth formed on the throat of one and as blood sprayed on to his face. The guard dropped and standing behind him was Safa. She lodged her knife in the eye of the other and twisted. He grabbed the injury as she wrenched it free and kicked him back.

"Hiro!" the princess tried again to free herself, but her confinement had sapped most of her energy.

"She is my cousin, but you are not! I don't know what the hell you are, but you are NOT the queen!" Hirokazu threw another ball of energy, only to see the fake princess stand and knock it away. Her eyes were cold as ice as she stared him down. "And you are not the princess!"

Another guard tried his luck to take the prince down, but Safa killed him as well, just in time to see Alexander enter the courtyard.

"Safa! What are you doing?!"

"Safa, keep father back!" Hirokazu ordered. He made a run for the princess, jumping over a guard and pushing past Sailor Mars who made no effort to stop him. Before he could get to her, though, he was grabbed and pushed to the ground. Safa was busy trying to pull their father away, but she too was grabbed by soldiers. She was lifted in to the air and her hands were pinned down.

"Traitors and demons alike infest my castle!" the 'queen' lamented. "The sentence is death!"

Serenity cried as she was pushed in to the guillotine and could not free herself. "Silver Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!" but she was too weak to transform.

"Sailor Venus, do your duty!" the fake queen ordered. With shaking hands, Venus grabbed the rope before dropping it as though burned and stepped back.

"No! This isn't right! Even if she were a fake, what harm has she brought?!" Venus demanded. The courtyard held their breath until they saw she remained transformed. "Crescent Beam!"

She lashed out at the fake princess, grazing her cheek. A sheet of blood fell from the wound and they watched as Venus continued to remain transformed. The fake princess laughed and licked some of the blood.

"We don't need them anymore, my queen," the princess explained. "Allow me the honor!"

There was no time to react. The fake princess leapt to the stage and grabbed the rope herself.

"BURN IN HELL!" she ordered as she released the blade to kill the real Princess Serenity.


	24. Chapter 24

The false princess looked in horror as the blade did not kill the true princess. The steel shattered to a thousand, thousand pieces, as though glass. When she looked, she saw the man with white gold hair holding his hand out, his earrings glinting in the artificial light in the dome.

She barely had time to jump back to avoid the razor sharp nails of Princess Selene, who had transformed in to a Sailor Guardian. She did not wear her gloves, and a sickly-sweet smell radiated from her claws. Poison. "STAND STILL!" Selene ordered.

The imposter failed to comply and jumped back again. Strong arms held her in place as Sapphire grabbed her from behind. Before Selene could strike her, she stomped his foot and jumped free as he doubled over.

Venus watched with horrid fascination. "Princess Selene?"

The pink haired princess landed on her feet and snorted. "I received word to be here. Don't think I'm your ally."

The fake princess attacked Diamond. She had him by the throat and it was obvious she overpowered him easily. He coughed and choked as he tried to pull away from her grip. Selene landed a blow down her back and watched as the injury cracked, like glass.

"What the hell?"

"It's what I thought," Sailor Earth commented from her perch on the courtyard wall. They all turned to see her there as dark portals began to open, allowing her soldiers to pour through, led by General Yukio. The patrons screamed and tried to find an exit only to see them all blocked off. "General, escort the civilians in to the palace. Take Hirokazu with you."

"I'm going to fight!" Hirokazu insisted. He backed down when he caught his mother's yellow eyes staring at him.

"Confine him to a room if you must."

Yukio said nothing as he grabbed his brother by the arm and led him with the soldiers inside. As much as he wanted to fight this was not the time to show weakness in his army. Arguing with his queen would give the enemy a gap in the defenses.

"This 'princess' is not real. The queen, I'm not so sure about, but she is an imposter," Lady Earth explained as she leapt down and drew her sword. The courtyard was cleared in seconds. "I don't know what the hell you are, but I'm going to kill you."

She swiped her sword at the imposter, keeping up far better than Selene could. This time, it was forced to block the attacks rather than avoid them entirely.

"You insolent whore!" the queen shouted. She rose to strike, only to find Sailor Mars aiming an arrow made of flames at her. She no longer had anyone to hide behind.

"Where is the queen?" Mars demanded. When the fake did not respond, she let her arrow loose. It struck a shield and vanished.

The imposter laughed. "Do you think your powers can stop me? I gave them to you!" She laughed again before choking as she had to move back from the sword swings of Sailor Earth.

"This didn't come from you! You aren't my teacher, may he rest in peace! He offered to die to give the universe a future!" Earth warned. "Stand and FIGHT!"

* * *

><p>"All non-combat personnel will stay behind and keep the doors sealed," Yukio ordered. "Guards will be stationed at every entrance and exit! My brother is NOT allowed outside of the castle!"<p>

Hirokazu gave his brother a look that could kill. He wanted to help fight.

"I will have the head of any who allow him to pass! Safa, lock him up."

The girl nodded and grabbed the prince by the arm to drag him back to their quarters, followed by a very confused Alexander. Hirokazu tried to pull himself free, but when Safa put her blade to his throat, he halted. The door blew open and she pushed him in.

"Father, please watch him." Safa was ready to return to the fighting when her father stopped her.

"Safa, what is happening?" he demanded. She faltered and bit her lip in thought. She wasn't sure what to say, until Hirokazu spoke for her.

"I'm your son." His arms were crossed and he looked like a spoiled child who wasn't allowed to color on the wall. "And I DON'T BELONG LOCKED UP LIKE THIS!"

Alexander went a sickly shade of green as Safa nodded. "Yes. What he said. I will explain when I return. For now, please, keep him here."

She left at once, leaving Hirokazu locked up. He punched the wall in his anger and hissed in pain.

"This is unacceptable." He stiffened as Alexander put a hand on his shoulder, as if to make sure he was real. "May I help you?" he asked as his father ran a hand to brush hair from his ear. There was a small, discolored spot hidden in his hairline.

"You… you _are_ Hirokazu," Alexander whispered.

Hirokazu barely had time to blink before being pulled in to a hug. He groaned from the strength of it and pulled back. "Yes. I am aware of who I am."

"You're alive… I thought… we were certain that you… that…"

Hirokazu wasn't sure how to handle the reunion. He had no memories of this man and he barely had memories of his mother. He wanted to go back to the battle and then to the Dark Kingdom.

"Please, don't… don't think we abandoned you to your fate! We begged the queen to search for you both!" Alexander refused to let his son go, as if ending the hug would make him vanish in the wind. "She told us, assured us, that you were dead. Your mother couldn't take it, but you've come back!"

Hirokazu backed away finally and stared. He felt bad that he couldn't return the enthusiasm. His parents had cared so much that being told he had died sent his mother in a spiral of depression that led to her being bed ridden, perhaps for the rest of her life.

"Yukio would prefer to be here for this," he said. "I know! I'll take his place in the battle and send him back here." He tried to get to the door, only to be stopped. "Damn."

"The battle may take you from me again!" Alexander shouted. "Stay with your mother and I, where it's safe!"

That ran through the prince. He knocked his father's hand aside. "She is NOT my mother! I was raised to be the prince of the Dark Kingdom! My MOTHER is the Lady Earth! She raised me, she took me in as her own and has been nothing but good and kind to me! Your people would have seen me put to death because of the energy that clings to me, do not stand there and claim otherwise!"

He saw the hurt and betrayal in Alexander's eyes, but he didn't care. Unable to leave the room to go to battle, he stormed in to the room containing his mother and closed the door.

* * *

><p>The fake moved in and out of Sailor Earth's attacks, laughing at her. The runes carved in the steel sang in capricious dissonance and sounded almost like music. Selene was the one to pick up on it and joined her. The two moved together and threw the copy out of synch with their movements. Two vicious swipes from the both of them ended her.<p>

The steel of the blade took her head off and send it crashing to the ground. It broke in to glass, as did the body. Earth turned to the fake queen and pointed at her.

"You're next."

The explosion caught them all off guard. When the dust settled, the Dark Kingdom soldiers surrounded the courtyard to keep the Moon Kingdom soldiers at bay. An unfamiliar woman stood where Queen Serenity had once been.

"You believe you can destroy me?" she wondered. She held her hand up and pointed at Sailor Earth. The queen rushed the imposter and leapt in the air to bring her sword down, only to land on a mirror that formed from nowhere and sank in. It clattered to the ground and all stared as she tried to break free. "I am Neherenia, Queen of the Dead Moon."

Mercury stood up from where she was, looking frightened. "W-where is Queen Serenity!"

"Dead. Her soul left this body nearly a thousand years ago." She laughed at the looks on their faces. "I've pitted you against one another for so long, and none of you questioned me! The darkness in you was just waiting to come out!"

"_Whatever she is now, the little doll never had darkness in her to begin with._"

Yukio ran for the mirror that held his queen, only to be struck and thrown back against a wall. Sailor Venus went to check on him.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Jupiter threw the ball of lightning and screamed as it reflected back against her.

Neherenia held her hand up as the Silver Crystal glinted darkly in the fading light. "This crystal obeys me, as you all should. I will rule everything and remake it as the Dead Moon!"

"Shabbon Spray Freezing!"

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

The attacks didn't touch her and she didn't flinch. The crystal ate them up as though they were nothing. Selene stood up to her full height and glared.

"But Princess Selene is my own child. Come, now, dear, and help your mother conquer all. I'll even spare your little 'family' you've built yourself," the evil queen promised.

"Diamond! Sapphire!"

"Yes, Great Mother?" they responded together.

"Get that mirror."

Neherenia frowned and expected her shield to keep them both out. However, she was stunned when both moved past it as though it weren't even there. Sapphire got his hands on the frame and his brother barely got his fingers on the glass when Selene rose in to the air. A small shard of rock grew in to a monolith and crackled with energy.

"I'll send you to HELL!" She threw it in to the courtyard moments after the two moved the mirror to safety with Yukio. It embedded in the ground and began to cause everything to decay around it.

"Don't breathe the air!" Sapphire ripped some of his sleeve and offered it to Sailor Venus as he covered his own nose. "It's poison!"

Everyone tried to keep from breathing in the air as much as they could, but some soldiers weren't so lucky. They collapsed at once as though a marionette whose strings had been cut. Mercury wanted to go and tend to them, but one of the servants who remained in the courtyard stopped her.

Enraged, Neherenia lashed out with her own energy at them, trying to shatter the Black Poison Crystal and kill everyone around her. "If you won't obey me in life, then you will serve me in DEATH!"

People screamed in agony, but one shriek caused wracking pain to the queen. The servant who held Mercury back let her go when his shriek was finished. He was escorted back inside at once as the girls went to attack again. The poison had been eaten away by the queen's attack.

"You can't hope to stop me! Not when I possess the Silver Crystal!"

Princess Serenity held her hands out and everyone watched in disbelief when the crystal vanished and reformed in her hands. Even the princess herself. Once it was there, though, she wasted no time to transform.

She reached to her chest and from the brooch over her heart, she drew a blade of crystal. Neherenia threw a shield up to protect herself and watched in confusion as Serenity turned and threw the blade behind her. It lodged in the mirror holding Sailor Earth and caused it to shatter. The Queen of the Dark Kingdom coughed as she got back up, holding her own sword and the blade that freed her.

Earth threw it back and once it was in Serenity's hand, she rushed Neherenia, swiping it several times. It ate through the shield each time, forcing the queen to back away to avoid being hit. Selene dropped from the air, raking her claws across Neherenia's face. She shrieked in agony and threw her daughter back. Sapphire went to check on her as Diamond broke off a fragment of what was left of the Black Poison Crystal to throw it at her. It went through her shoulder and pinned her to a wall.

"Kill her," Earth ordered. "She is dangerous, and not worth the risk. We are not her pawns!"

Serenity shook her head. "We cannot kill her. She risks rebirth. Rather, we should seal her away from others, so she may not harm any again."

Earth laughed at her. "You fool. What could possibly imprison one such as her? And for how long could it hold her?"

Serenity moved forward and ran the blade through Neherenia's forehead, closing her eyes and trying to not listen to the shrieks. She stepped back when her work was done. Rising from the ground was a stone tile. It engulfed the queen and transformed to a mirror. Serenity removed the cape from her costume and threw it over the glass. "Sleep in blinding light forever."

* * *

><p>It had been three days since the battle. Princess Serenity was to be crowned as queen following the events, and she had issued a full pardon to the Dark Kingdom for their acts in the war. She justified it by claiming their 'treason' had been against a woman who was NOT the true queen and, by doing so, had been aiding the Moon all along. Several nobles who refused to accept what had happened had left in disgust.<p>

"They will not be missed," Sailor Earth promised as she stood in the war room with the others. She stood in the back, closest to the door while the others stood near their soon-to-be queen. A thousand years of separation could not be easily forgotten. "And I still refuse to hand my kingdom back over to Endymion."

"It is not yours!" Sailor Mars reminded. It made her blood boil to see Earth shrug and look the other way. "You may have received a pardon, but you should still return it! Elysion belongs to the royal family of the Earth!"

"Are you sure the mirror is secured?" Earth asked, ignoring the outburst.

Princess Serenity nodded. "Yes. I have refitted the dungeons to a secure vault. None will take it from there."

"Are you going to address this situation at all, my lady?" Jupiter wondered. She motioned to the fuming Sailor Mars.

"Endymion will have to rebuild his kingdom on the surface. We are tasked to protect this holy planet, I see no better way than to have two kingdoms. Endymion will protect its surface while the Lady Earth will protect it from within," she reasoned.

Mercury smiled at the idea. "That is quite ingenious of you, princess. And I am sure that the Lady Earth will be more than willing to host Prince Endymion should he like to visit his childhood home."

"Whatever."

She turned and left the room. Her job was over now and she was ready to return home. She passed back through her portal and was once more in her own castle. She wouldn't give this place up and was happy that the future Neo Queen Serenity would not force her to return it.

The priests had returned to the Great Temple, which had been left intact. Demetrious had refused to return, however, and remained in the castle. He would take a long time to fully heal, and his nightmares would take longer to leave.

But that was fine with the Lady Earth. Once she was back inside her castle, she transformed back. For the first time since the fighting began she was in her court dress and she would never return to her Sailor Guardian state. She had secured the freedom of the Earth as she had sought for, there was no longer a reason to fight.

Everything was as it should be.


	25. Chapter 25

"Have you eaten?" he asked once more, as he had incessantly asked the entire morning. "It will not do to skip meals, my lady, I will not have you half starved. It is rather unpleasant."

Demetrious stood in the door to the Lady Earth's room as she stared out her window. She had done so all morning.

"I will eat shortly," she promised.

He sighed and walked in to the room to take her by the arm and pulled hard. "You will eat _now_."

She was unprepared for the harsh tug and went with him against her desires. He muttered to himself about stubborn women as he led her to the dining hall, passing several servants who hid smiles at the sight. Once he got her in, he forced her to sit like she were a stubborn child.

"You will sit here, and you will eat." He went to the kitchens, leaving her with Hotaru and Hirokazu.

Both looked up at her. It had been nearly two years since the defeat of the False Serenity and the prince was finally allowing himself to let go on the death of the little girl. Both had a look on their face that they'd been caught and Hirokazu stood up hastily.

"Mother." He nodded to her and moved to walk out with Hotaru close on his heels. His hand was about to open the door out when she spoke.

"Come, sit and talk with me. We haven't spoken much of your wedding."

He cursed and turned around, unenthused. "Trivial, trivial. We progress just fine on our own."

"I simply want to make sure everything is in order. I've never seen a wedding before, this will be my first one," she explained with a smile. Making him uncomfortable was one of her favorite things as a mother. "Shall I escort you to have a new suit fitted?"

Hirokazu went red as Hotaru giggled at the situation. "M-mother, I am capable of such feats on my own."

"Perhaps we should send your brother with you. That is, assuming of course, we can have him return to us long enough."

Following the events of the Final Battle, Yukio had taken a very long vacation to the Moon where he spent his entire time in the company of his father and sister, reconnecting with them whenever possible. Hirokazu gave them a wide breadth.

"Let him stay with them. My place is here. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a lamp to move for Hotaru." He bowed and turned to hurry out.

"I had thought you would at least like your father to be there to see his son wed," she continued as tea was placed before her by another servant.

"The last time I checked, _mother_, you had no husband. Or have you and Demetrious decided otherwise?"

She fell silent and glared at him as he smiled in triumph. When her food arrived, she gave a dismissive wave with her hand and sent him on his way. Once he was out of the room, he breathed a sigh in relief. Hotaru just put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"She just wants to be part of something big," she reminded. "She is very excited over this."

"What she _wants_ is nothing less than my utter humiliation."

Hotaru laughed. "You are nothing short of a stubborn child. You do know that someday it will be you and I embarrassing our own child, right?"

"I am aware." He ran a hand down his face and sighed. "Fine. I will be more understanding of mother."

Hotaru gave him a kiss. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>Yukio sat in the tea room with Alexander, as they had done once a week for two years. It was the general's one day off and sometimes it was all that got him through a tough week. Just because they were no longer at war didn't mean his men could slack off.<p>

"Does the wedding progress?" Alexander wondered.

"It would move faster if Hirokazu were not such a stubborn bastard. He is adamant against the Lady Earth being involved. He is embarrassed by the notion of his 'mother' helping." Yukio took a long drink of his tea. "Should he simply remove his head from his ass, we would not have this problem.

His father smiled. It was a bitter one. "He truly does not wish us as his parents, does he?"

Yukio's cup clattered as he set it down too quickly to come to his brother's defense. "Do not think that! I have explained to you, father, that he has spent his life in the care of the Lady Earth! It is just that… that he believes we expect him to ignore her now in favor of mother and yourself!"

"I know what my son is thinking, Yukio. It makes it no easier. He only visits on official meetings with his fiancée as they attempt to restore her ancestral home." Alexander sat back with a groan. "I just wish to see him more. He was so young when you both vanished."

"I will make him come here, father. I promise!"

The door opened as he spoke and Venus entered with a nurse trailing after her. "I hope I didn't come at a bad time," she smiled. Yukio went red at the sight of her and sat back down, not realizing he'd stood.

"Ah, my lady. Is it time already?" Alexander wondered.

Venus smiled and nodded. "Yes. We think she may make it to the end of the hall today!" She sounded so confident in the Lady Ninah's abilities to move. Since Yukio and Hirokazu had been able to return to the castle, she had come more and more out of the gripping depression. With the help of the Lady Venus and several nurses, she was learning to regain her stamina.

"I… will just leave you to her, then. Father." Yukio gave a polite bow and left his seat to walk out of the room. With a laugh, Venus reached out to grab his arm and stopped him as the nurse went to the room where Ninah slept.

"You should stay and help us." Tilting her head, she reached up to run a hand through his hair. "I am glad to see you have stopped hiding its beautiful color."

Yukio went red again and looked away. "…very well. I will stay."

* * *

><p>Demetrious was standing over a galaxy map. He did such things when he fought sleep. The nightmares kept him awake and fearful of the dark. The Lady Earth was unable to Dream Walk and the trauma he suffered kept all but the most experienced priests out. None could truly help him yet.<p>

Instead, he made himself useful to both queens. Tonight, while the castle slept he would study the movements of stars. There had been a… disturbing lack of communication from the most outer reaches lately.

According to the newest charts, several points of light were vanishing. They still saw them, of course, and it would be so long before they went out. They had yet to tell the Lady Earth. She was far too excited over the upcoming wedding, why worry her? She no longer fought, after all. Demetrious would see to it that she worried only that the floral arrangements would be correct.

"What have you found?" a voice asked. He was startled and looked up to see an unfamiliar Sailor Guardian standing before him. He had never seen a woman in golden armor before.

"Oh. Apologies, my lady. I did not hear your entrance." He pointed to a section of the map and stifled a yawn. "Small sections of the galaxy are… fading away. I am simply waiting to confirm it before I bring it to the Neo Queen's attention."

The woman looked at the map. "It is wise to wait. Perhaps it is nothing more than a mistake. I am sure that everything is fine."

He nodded. "That is my hope. I may be tired, you see. It has been three days since last I slept." Then, he laughed. "For all I know, you are little more than a hallucination."

The woman in the gold armor smiled at him. It was cold and sent a sobering chill down his spine. "Why… you may very well be correct. But… why should that mean I am not real?"

Demetrious watched as light began to well up around her and when it made to engulf him as well, he began to scream.

* * *

><p>"We cannot tell the Lady Earth just yet," Mercury warned as the four of them gathered in the medical ward, where Demetrious lay unconscious. "We do not know how she would react. Our people tortured him for two years; to tell her he has entered a coma on our watch does not bode well for us."<p>

"What do we do then? We should send for the Outer Soldiers at once. We need to recall our forces." Mars crossed her arms. "This was an attack. I feel psychic backlash. Demetrious does not sleep often. Something has taken advantage of that."

Venus thought long and hard before speaking. "I am to meet with General Yukio tomorrow. I will tell him that Demetrious has simply worked himself to exhaustion and we are forcing him to stay asleep to recover. That will give you time to figure out what happened."

Mercury nodded and went back to work as the other three went to leave the room. "Jupiter, please send word to the priests. I will need someone to Dream Walk and see what has happened."

Jupiter nodded and left with the others. Venus rounded the corner to head for the Arae family where Yukio still slept for the night. It would be best to tell him now, rather than wait. Demetrious was a sore spot for his queen, after all. She pushed the door open to find Yukio asleep in the main sitting room, all over the couch. He snored, too.

Hiding a smile, she went over to wake him. "General. General Yukio."

Yukio snorted and nearly rolled off the couch. When he saw her there, trying to hold in a laugh, he wiped drool from his mouth and got to his feet as quickly as he could. "L-Lady Venus!"

"You don't have to get so nervous around me, general."

He flushed and coughed, half-muttering something to himself before standing straight. He towered over her. "The lights have yet to be turned back on, why are you here?"

The solemn look on her face seemed to make him nervous. "Your queen's aide, Demetrious, he has…"

She trailed off to find the words to use, but Yukio went to move past her in an agitated rush. "What has happened to him? I will return him at once."

Venus grabbed his hand which made his face redder. She just kept holding it. "No. The man has made himself sick from lack of sleep. We have had to induce a coma to force him to rest." She saw the look on his face and squeezed his hand tight. "He will be fine, general. We did not wish to wake your queen, so I will tell you."

She knew he didn't believe her. She knew he understood that something terrible had happened. But he would not tell the Lady Earth and risk another war. If he was being cared for, that would be enough to placate the queen.

"…very well. I trust you, Lady Venus. Tell me what happened."

She shook her head and looked to the floor. "We heard screaming from the map room. The door was sealed shut and by the time we got in, he was on the floor. It truly could be nothing more than a lack of sleep. He has hallucinated badly before from staying awake so long. No one who is capable of inducing a coma has entered or left the castle."

He sat back on the couch and she took a seat next to him.

"We have sent for a High Priest to determine what is wrong. We will take good care of him," she promised. "Just trust us."

"I find that his health means more to me than it does the Lady Earth."

She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Because Ukito died. Because… I was the one who got him killed."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu woke that next morning to find Hotaru curled up under his mountain of blankets. They were supposed to go to the main temple that day to speak with High Priest Helios about the wedding. His mother had begged and pleaded to have the temple used, rather than the smallish one attached to her castle. Helios had agreed and now the work began.<p>

Once he was up and dressed, he'd let Hotaru sleep in. They'd been up late moving a new lamp in to her room, and she'd passed out on his bed while waiting for them to finish. He also wanted to see Miyu's family. They had settled in well, and he saw them as his responsibility.

He was walking down the corridor when he heard the voices.

"Yes, it is a shame. I am sorry I cannot tell you anymore."

Hirokazu glanced in to the room to see Prince Endymion and an unfamiliar Sailor Guardian standing there.

"I see. Thank you anyway, Pluto. I am sorry for asking."

Pluto shook her head. "I understand. If I were able to tell you more of the future, I would."

"Demetrious will not wake for a long time, I gather."

'_Something has happened to Demetrious?_'

"No. If he will wake at all. I am… sorry to say I cannot see that particular future."

Hirokazu gripped the frame of the door. What had happened to Demetrious?!

"If you are correct in what has happened… after two years of peace… did it mean nothing?" Endymion lamented. Pluto was silent.

"Please ask the Lady Earth to loan us the aid of Sailor Saturn when she wakes. We do not have our peace just yet, my prince. We are still at war. Only this time… the enemy will be Sailor Soldiers."


	26. Chapter 26

"Security cameras were down during the attack," Mercury explained in the throne room. The Lady Earth was sitting in the medical ward with Demetrious while the Inner Soldiers gathered with the Neo Queen to discuss what was happening. The Outer Soldiers had been called in as well. The only one not there was Sailor Saturn. They did not want her accidentally revealing that it had been an attack.

"Who would have taken them down?" Neo Queen Serenity asked in fear. "Could one of the nobles who are against my rule have done so?"

"It… is possible, yes." Mercury worked on her personal computer. She did not focus on the people around her, but rather on the screen over her eyes. Whoever had done this had high clearance. At least five technicians were among the disgruntled who had left. With the fighting over, they had seen no reason to change the security settings.

That mistake may soon cause another war.

"That doll is too warlike and dangerous," Uranus complained with crossed arms. "The Lady Earth is to not be trusted. So she was fighting a fake queen all along. So what? That means nothing. Her rebellion was against the Moon itself!"

"Uranus, please try to understand." Neptune put her hand on her shoulder.

But Uranus pulled free. "If she had meant well all along, why not hand the Earth back over to Endymion when she cast out the original usurpers?"

"Because Endymion was with the imposter the entire time?" Jupiter reminded. "She'd have been executed by the imposter, and we'd have been disposable after that. We were only being kept alive to fight against her. And all we did was take some inside information to get in and kill her adviser, which, may I remind you, only made things worse."

Venus looked at the ribbon in her hand, a gift from the general Yukio. It was meant to replace the faded, orange one she always wore. "…Yukio was the inside information. I know this revelation is a thousand years too late, but…"

She closed her hand around it and looked up. "He had meant to return to the Moon once we killed Sailor Earth. However, we didn't know and broke our end of the bargain. That did not help, either. I agree with Uranus. They will march on us for even the slightest provocation."

Neo Queen Serenity frowned. "We have given them nothing but reason after reason to do so!"

"I did not mean I agree to kill her. Or imprison her. I am simply pointing out the truth of the situation. If the Lady Earth finds out the truth, we will be in trouble. Let her think he is simply ill. Until we can wake him, she needs know no different."

That placated the queen. She sat back with a sigh and looked among the others. "Someone has been attacked in my castle. Demetrious protected me when I was locked away. I have never told, but he would act up when they would come to torture me, he would take the pain and humiliation a thousand times to keep me safe and well. I owe him so much. He will stay here until he is better. You will give him the same level of care you would give to me. That is an order."

Mercury nodded and left the room. Uranus snorted and looked at her.

"As for us?"

"As for the rest of you, you will find who attacked him. Find who hurt that innocent person and bring them before me. Tell Sailor Saturn only that someone was caught attempting to enter his room AFTER he was asleep and we seek them. Go."

The remaining girls bowed and left the room.

* * *

><p>"But… but, nooo." Hirokazu held Hotaru by the hand like a stubborn child. "You can't go and be a Sailor Soldier, we have a wedding to plan."<p>

She smiled at him. "It won't be for long. Someone tried to hurt Demetrious. You heard that just as well as I did."

Hirokazu bit the inside of his cheek to keep from telling her what he himself had heard earlier.

"I myself am part of the priest caste by blood. I may not have any of their abilities or responsibilities, but I feel I should help him." She smiled again and held her arms out for a hug. "I won't be long. I'll return nightly."

He debated on if he should tell her that Sailor Pluto had spoken to Prince Endymion that Demetrious may die. He didn't want his mother to know that, though. With a sigh, he hugged her as she wanted and took a long sniff of her hair, which smelled like flowers. "Be safe. I could not handle the death of another I care for."

Hotaru tried to pull free and laughed when she realized his grip was too tight to allow her to go. "I cannot leave if you do not let go."

"Damn." He released her and watched her walk out of the room to travel to the Moon. He sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. He wanted to be the one to take her place in this so she could do nothing more than admire her lamp collection, or read, or relax. He wanted to be the one doing the hard work. That should have been his job.

But she was a Sailor Soldier. This was a power and a duty given to her bloodline and his desires could not come before that. He looked to the dresser where a doll sat. It had belonged to Miyu and was a gift from her family. Something of hers for him, because he had tried to save her, even if his interference had gotten her killed. He held it in his hands and stared.

"Are we to never be at peace? Why do we always have to fight?" he asked it. "All I want… more than anything… I only want to have a family. Why is that too much to ask for?"

* * *

><p>Yukio was pacing back and forth, up and down the hallway. To the untrained eye, he was patrolling. He was a soldier, after all, this was his job. But to a soldier, he was nervous. Anxious. He was trying to work courage up as best he could. Every time he thought he had a sufficient amount, he would reach for the door only to pull back as though burned.<p>

He heard a small grunt and looked at the decorative table behind him. There sat a white cat that stared at him.

"Oh. Only you." Yukio sighed and turned away again.

"What do you mean, 'only me'?"

He spun back around so hard he nearly fell. The cat stared at him, unblinking. "Ah ha ha… I worry myself sick. For a moment, cat, I thought you spoke to me."

"That's because I _did_."

Had he not seen the cat's mouth move, he'd have thought someone was playing a joke on him. He felt himself go pale and for a moment, he thought his heart stopped.

"Are you okay?" the cat wondered. "You look like you need to see a doctor."

"…I think I have gone insane. Too much Dark Energy? Why is a cat speaking to me?"

The cat's fur bristled. "What a rude thing to say to a guy you've just met! My name is Artemis, and I'm one of the advisers to the Neo Queen! I'm from Mau."

Upon hearing that, Yukio felt himself relax. He'd heard of the people of Mau and that they had the power to shift into the form of a cat. He never expected them to be able to speak while in cat form.

"Oh. My apologies, then."

"Why are you pacing around Lady Venus' room?" Artemis asked.

Yukio ran his hand along the back of his neck and thought. "I… wanted to see if she received my gift. Nothing more." The cat obviously did not believe him. "That is all there is to it!"

"Who're you trying to convince? You or me?"

Yukio frowned and grabbed Artemis up. "Do cats land on their feet when hurled out a fourth floor balcony?" he threatened. Artemis laid his ears back and hissed. With a deft twist, he freed himself and ran down the corridor. "I hate cats."

The door clicked as he turned to leave and he looked back to see a half-asleep Lady Venus stand there. He turned red and looked away.

"Oh, uh… I-I am sorry. You were asleep. Yes, I suppose I should have known that. W-well, I w-was just, I mean I wanted to… to make sure you received my g-gift, the one you are… wearing now. Yes." The more he stammered the more embarrassed he got which, in turn, led to more stammering and rambling.

"Is something wrong, general? Does your mother need assistance?"

Yukio shook his head as he felt his insides seize. With a dry swallow, he gave a half-hearted salute. "I should go. I am sorry I woke you."

He watched her close her door again and dropped his arm with a sigh. He felt insignificant. He had once fought for the crown of the Dark Kingdom, he had fought countless battles and was feared by his enemies. Why could he not speak to a single woman?

He had made his way back down the corridor and slipped into the servant's passage back to his parent's room. He was sitting on the bed when the door opened to reveal Safa standing there.

"I thought you left for Earth," she admitted.

He looked up at her through the cracks of his fingers. "I did. I mean, I was going to. I wanted to bid the Lady Venus farewell, but… but I am a fool."

She just stood there as he heaved a sigh.

"Do you know I have never faced her in battle? Not once in a thousand years. I have fought the other three, but never her. When I see her in my mind's eye, she is this radiant goddess of light and beauty who does not belong of the field of battle. I could never bear the thought of injuring her. I would flee if she came near. I know that does not fit with your views of me, but it is true." He smiled at the memories. He looked like a coward, he knew. He never told the Lady Earth of it, knowing what her reaction would be.

"So, you are in love with her?" his sister wondered. "Why do you not tell her?"

"Because… because I am a simpering fool. I was her enemy for so long. I have done terrible things. She deserves a prince. I am just a general."

* * *

><p>Mercury stood over Demetrious, scanning him every which way she could think of. High Priest Helios stood with her to view his dreams later on.<p>

"He has not woken?" the priest asked as he put a hand on his forehead.

Mercury shook her head. "No. He is not in any stage of sleep I know of. That is why we called for you. We do not believe the Lady Earth is skilled enough to perform this level of Dream Walking."

"No, she would not be." Helios pulled his hand back. "She left long before formal training began. Ukito may have taught her some such abilities, but even he was unskilled. And now Demetrious, who fled before any training could begin and refuses to return."

He closed his eyes and Mercury watched his body begin to glow in a soft, gold color. The gem on his forehead lit up as the light moved from his body to that of Demetrious. She had never been witness to Dream Walking and began to record the event. It was not a secret to be kept, it was simply rare to have to witness.

He stood like that for long moments. She did not know how long it would take and became uncomfortable just staring. She turned to monitor the life support machines when she heard Helios inhale sharply. The glowing had stopped.

"Oh. I was… not expecting it to progress so quickly."

Helios had a worried look upon his face and turned on his heel to leave the room. Mercury panicked and hastily handed control over to one of the aides before running after the priest.

"High Priest Helios! W-where are you going?"

They arrived in the map room, where the attack had occurred. Neptune and Uranus were in there as Neptune tried to view what happened through her talisman.

"This is the place, correct?" he asked. Mercury nodded and tried to ask what was happening again but he simply sat on the map table and closed his eyes. The three stared at one another then to him. This was even shorter. He looked around, confused.

"It was here, correct? There is no other map room within this castle, correct?"

Mercury shook her head. "No, High Priest. This is all there is. What is wrong?"

"Demetrious is missing his Star Seed. I thought… perhaps his soul has simply wandered. It is not here. Someone has taken it."

* * *

><p>"GONE?!" Yukio shrieked. "How can his soul be GONE!"<p>

The Neo Queen had informed the general of what had happened at once. He did not take it well at all. The Lady Venus put her hand on his shoulder to calm him, but he rebuked her. They all felt the sickening presence of Dark Energy radiate around him.

"Yes. Gone. This is the statement of the High Priest. I have recalled my forces and summoned for additional help," the queen explained. "Please, do not tell the Lady Earth what has happened here. I… I fear her reaction."

"You should fear mine! Demetrious was my penance for trusting your guardians! I let them in our castle to kill the Lady Earth in exchange for my brother and myself returning to the Moon and they KILLED HIM! Now he is returned only I am to lose him once more?!" He thrust his hand out to the side as he glared at her. A ball of energy shot out and struck the wall with a loud THUD.

"We do not know the attacker, but it was none of the Moon. We do not bear the ability to rend a soul from its home," Venus explained. Yukio put his head in his hands and tried to calm himself. It served to make him angrier.

"I will find the culprit and I will rip their black heart from their chest with my own hands! I was forgiven!"

In his mind's eye, he saw it all. The shine of a blade from one of the four, he never saw who threw it, as it flew through the air and found its home in Ukito's spine. He saw the energy of the Lady Earth grow violet in color and erratic as she fought them off. He listened to her explain that Ukito's dying wish had been to see her in her royal dress, so she could never transform back until he saw her again.

Who had hurt him now?

He watched the Neo Queen look up, startled. Then she sat back in her throne. "Oh, the help I requested have arrived. They hail from a world that studies the Sailor Soldiers of the past. They are well-versed in ancient magicks and abilities."

The four women entered the throne room and bowed. The one in red gave a formal bow not unlike the ones in Asian culture on Earth while the other three trailing her dropped to one knee.

"Neo Queen Serenity, it is an honor to be before you today. I only wish it would be under happier circumstances," the red one greeted. Once she rose back up, her three stood.

"My guardians, and honored General Yukio, these four will help us determine our new enemy," the Neo Queen introduced. "They hail from Kinmoku. Princess Kakyuu and Sailors Star Fighter, Star Maker, and Star Healer."


	27. Chapter 27

A week of no leads had come and gone. The four from Kinmoku had done their best to be helpful, but all Yukio had seen was Sailor Star Fighter flirting with the Lady Venus. It infuriated him to see, but what could he do about it? He would sit and fume as one flirted with her and when she flirted with the others.

Safa thought it was amusing to watch her brother grow jealous. She would constantly mention that he should confess himself to her, but he would hear none of it. Rather, he would bury himself in his work with his mother or patrolling the corridors of the medical ward.

At the moment, he was back on Earth to meet the new soldiers.

"Yukio! Brother, there you are!" Hirokazu shouted from across the courtyard. Yukio just sighed.

"You are supposed to be a prince. Do you have no manners? Calling across such a distance like a common street urchin is unbecoming." He watched his little brother while reaching up to unexpectedly shove a recruit who toppled over. "Four hundred laps. My soldiers do not falter in stance."

He watched the young man stand up to begin and walked over to the prince.

"Do you have word from Hotaru? When is she to return?" Hirokazu wondered. "I was promised nightly returns, yet I see her once every few days."

Yukio shook his head and tripped another soldier. "Four hundred laps. Go." He looked back at his brother. "They are busy trying to find the one who came for Demetrious."

Hirokazu bit his tongue. "That may be, but I miss her. There is only so much I may do here."

"Then go to Earth. I could not keep you from it during the war."

"Now it does not have the same appeal."

Yukio nodded pensively. "After losing a close companion that you had in that girl, I could see why." A third soldier was steadier and did not move when suddenly attacked.

"Not that. It was far more desirable when I was not allowed."

The general had no words for that, other than sheer frustration. "So, had I allowed you to freely move as you please, you would have stayed put?"

The prince smiled and nodded. "Most likely, yes."

The soldier was unprepared for Yukio to fully assault him. The quick strikes ended when he was flipped on his back with the air pushed out of his lungs.

"Five hundred laps."

* * *

><p>Someone had managed to convince the Lady Earth to leave Demetrious' bedside to eat. It was under order of the Neo Queen. She had been told many secrets of her once enemy, including that even though she looked human enough, she was not. However, that did not mean that she could skip meals or sleep. It had the same effect.<p>

The Lady Earth was sitting at the dining table and stared at the food before her. She took sips of tea but could not choke anything down. She feared it would simply come right back up.

"You are Hirokazu's father, correct?" she asked when she felt someone in the room with her. Her suspicions were correct when he moved in to her field of view. He looked much like her top general. "Shall I guess that he still avoids you?"

Alexander laughed at that and sat down four places from her. "You would be correct. How are you doing, Lady Earth? Your advisor has not awoken?"

"They say he heals, but it feels like they are being dishonest with me. Even General Yukio feeds me the same lines they do." She shoved the plate aside. "I am unsure what to believe. He breathes, but he does not dream."

"I find it strange to hear of my son as being a general to this day. And my other child is a prince. Had they stayed with us, their chances of taking my father's crown would have been slim." Alexander laughed. "But at the very least, I am grateful that you have kept them safe. Yukio has told me that you were the one to cast out the usurper after Beryl was killed. You prevented them from becoming monsters."

"I hate your son, Yukio. I will not hide that. We fought for the crown, and I had to threaten to let Hirokazu starve to death locked in my bedchamber before he stepped down," she admitted to him. "I would not have allowed it to happen, but he still believes I would have."

Alexander did not react badly as she thought he would. He stayed rather calm. "You kept our kingdoms alive. When the imposter was at war with you, she could not harm anyone else. Yukio would have surrendered at once. Granted, none knew the truth at that time."

"It does not excuse it. Ukito… Demetrious… said as much. I am just as much a monster as the people in my past."

"You are quite old from my understanding. Your past must stretch quite extensively and you must have met quite a number of people. That gives your words all the more chilling implications."

She put her head in her hand and stared at her yellow eyes in the polished wood of the table. "I am sorry I cannot make Hirokazu understand that you would like to see him. I tell him to visit with his brother, but he will find something important to do the moment the words leave my mouth."

Alexander waved his hand dismissively. "He does things on his own. He refused to be taught to crawl or walk. Whenever his mother or I would try to help him, he would scream and cry. He struck Yukio once for coming too close during such a fit. He never learned to crawl, one day as if to prove us all wrong that he would need help he pushed himself up on his feet and began walking."

"So… perhaps I should no longer harp on him to visit with you. He will walk to you on his own."

Alexander nodded. "Or, he will deny our existence and the next I see him will be at the wedding."

* * *

><p>Hirokazu had arrived on the Moon four hours ago. He was planning to visit Hotaru and perhaps escort her to the ruins of her ancestral home as they were restored, but he was turned away. They were very busy it seemed. Now, he was up in a high tree branch staring at the Earth. It wasn't the best view but it would have to do.<p>

He worried about Demetrious and his mother, how she was holding up in the event of what was going on. If what Sailor Pluto had said was true, Demetrious would never wake again. That would kill her, or she would kill herself.

'_Do not think of such things,'_ he ordered to himself. '_Mother would never do such a thing.'_

He looked down when he heard footsteps and saw Lady Venus walking alongside the woman with black hair, one of the arrivals. From the looks of it, the very one his brother hated.

"This is all troubling, you say they bypassed your security systems?" she asked.

Venus nodded. "Yes. The cameras were down, the attack was planned. I… do not think Demetrious was the intended target, he was just there at the wrong time."

The new woman nodded. "I see. Yes, very troubling… we brought our books from the Great Library, we think we may have an idea of what is going on."

"Oh, good. Take them to our library and Sailor Mercury will attend to them." Venus turned to go and tell the news when the taller woman took her hand.

"Now, now. There's no need to rush. How about we go get lunch first?" she asked with a smile. Hirokazu felt his heart break for his brother until Venus shook her head.

"No, thank you. I must tell Mercury of this at once. And… there is a general who would not appreciate it," she explained.

That made Hirokazu smile and he relaxed for a moment. '_It may be they are too stupid to see it for themselves._'

Something felt off and he sat up at once. To a normal passerby the light was as bright as always but to him it seemed… dull. It felt familiar to him, but he could not place where he'd felt it before. He ran his thumb over the ring on his finger, where his crystal sat in its new fitting.

Dark Energy.

He turned to call down to the two of them when he faltered. He could see over the wall of the courtyard and he saw three women laughing among one another as they walked, carrying a small stack of books each.

The woman Venus was talking to was among them.

It happened so fast he was unaware he had done it. As the imposter grabbed Venus by the wrist and its body began to glow the prince threw a supercharged orb of his own Dark Energy at it. It struck in the back of the head and nearly came out the left eye.

The over-abundance caused the head to explode and Venus shrieked.

That sound drew everyone to the courtyard as Hirokazu dropped to the ground to check on her. The three women were first on the scene as a haggard-looking servant tried to balance the books they had hurriedly shoved off on him came up. Next came Sailors Mars and Jupiter, followed by Alexander and the Lady Earth.

Venus was being hugged by Hirokazu as she tried to come down from the hysteria of the past few seconds as he held one hand up in innocence. "It attacked first. I promise."

"There is a corpse here and the feel of Dark Energy all over! How can you claim you did not do this?" Mars demanded. She stiffened as she felt Earth's sword touch her back.

"Do not accuse my son of attacking an innocent. He is not you four, after all." She inhaled and the Dark Energy poured in to her. "Wonderful. Stronger than what I am accustomed to, this should keep me running for years."

"Wh-what happened?" Venus demanded as she finally looked up. The woman the imposter had copied knelt down next to the corpse. She ripped away the back of the tunic to expose what looked like a clawed handprint.

"Had your friend left the head intact, we could have gathered more information on this one," she said.

Jupiter looked from the corpse to the prince then to the woman. "What are you talking about, Star Fighter?"

"I can still get some of what I need from this." She motioned to the print. "This greatly narrows down our list of suspects. Girl, can you put those books down, please?"

"I-I'm a boy," the servant insisted. Hirokazu realized the servant was clearly female and was trying to disguise her voice poorly.

"Of course you are," Star Fighter said dismissively. She pulled a book from the middle and flipped it open, motioning for the other two to gather.

Venus, in the meantime, left the courtyard at once.

* * *

><p>"It attacked Sailor Venus?" the Neo Queen asked in fear. Jupiter nodded. She was accompanied by Star Maker and Star Healer.<p>

"Yes. Had the prince Hirokazu not happened to be there, she would have wound up like Demetrious. Majesty, we are calling for lockdown and the transfer of all at-risk staff to Elysion."

Neo Queen Serenity bowed her head. "We cannot give up our home. Can you not contact Selene? We need Sailor Moon's help."

"She… she would not aide us. You know this. She and her Black Moon Clan are not our allies," Jupiter reminded. "We would also like you to travel to Elysion."

That made her flush in anger as she stood. "Do you think I am incapable of defending myself?" she demanded. The three flinched at her outburst as the Silver Crystal, which sat under a glass before her throne, began to shine.

"N-not at all, majesty, but… you have little experience as a Sailor Soldier. You could travel to Elysion to train? If the Lady Earth releases you to fight, you could join us for the battle," Jupiter compromised.

"Such a delicate beauty has clearly never seen tough battle," Star Healer flattered. "Just the same, I cannot stand to fight, but I will do so to protect your kingdom in your place."

She was not convinced. "I will not be the queen who cannot fight back. I will not be my mother who lost to the imposter!" She swelled up, much like a balloon as she worked to contain her outrage at the very notion that she could not defend her own kingdom.

"Send word to Endymion! I am traveling to Elysion! Have him meet me there, and I will learn to be a Sailor Soldier, and I will stand with my people!"

"Majesty, please. We do not mean to imply you are inept, merely unskilled," Star Maker said. "You have had no reason to train and this comes unexpectedly. To battle such an enemy takes years of practice and even then pure luck."

The Neo Queen stepped forward and removed the cover to the Silver Crystal. From it, she drew a small blade. "I will stand with my people or I will watch them fall."

The three knew there was no changing her mind. They left to carry out her orders with great reluctance.


	28. Chapter 28

Yukio watched as his soldiers filed out for the evening and turned when he heard movement behind him. He was face-to-face with the Lady Earth and the Neo Queen.

"Ah. Greetings, cousin. My lady." He nodded to each in turn and turned back to his duties.

"Yukio, you will begin training the Neo Queen to fight," the Lady Earth informed.

He stopped in mid-step and turned back around. "What? I-I am sorry, my apologies, I could have sworn I heard you tell me that I am to train my cousin to fight."

The Lady Earth nodded.

"I… ah ha ha, I do not believe I am… _comprehending_ your intentions, my lady," he began again. "Train my cousin."

"Yes."

"The Neo Queen Serenity, of the Moon."

"Yes."

"…to fight."

The Lady Earth nodded again. "You seem to comprehend just fine general. I leave her in your capable hands. As you battled her guardians for so long, you are an excellent instructor."

She went to leave but he hooked her by the arm and pulled her back. "Have you gone MAD?!"

"You will unhand me, dear Yukio," she warned as the Neo Queen stood there. "I am not above kicking your ass."

The crass language made the Neo Queen blush and did nothing to Yukio himself.

"WHY would I train my cousin to FIGHT?!"

"There was an attempted attack, this time on the Lady Venus." Yukio looked like he had swallowed an entire apple by the look on his face. "We were lucky your brother was there to stop it, but if the attacks are to occur in full view, our Queen here would like to defend herself. She will not see battle lest she is released by you."

"She will NOT SEE BATTLE! I am not risking my family to this!"

"The last I checked, your title was not 'Lord Earth'. You are no king, and you give no orders to me." The Lady Earth jerked her thumb in the direction of the Neo Queen. "She does."

He ran a hand down his face as he took it all in. "…of course."

"I told you he was very clever," she said to the Neo Queen. "I am expecting personnel from the Moon to arrive by midnight. Have them shown in, general."

* * *

><p>The Lady Earth stepped in to her tea parlor to see Endymion already sitting there surrounded by his four guardians.<p>

"Ah yes, there is nothing quite like being yelled at by my former superior. What do you want, Endymion?" she demanded. The stress of the situation was taking a toll on her court manners.

He stood up and closed the book he had been reading. "Why are you allowing the Neo Queen to train?"

"How many times must I explain it? I received an order, Endymion. An ORDER."

The prince frowned and replaced the book.

"I have worked my way around it, though… she will not be released to battle without Yukio's consent. He will NOT allow it."

With a deep sigh the prince nodded and sat down.

"There's still time, you know. You can go out and find yourself a less crazy fiancée."

That made him laugh as he sat down. "I don't know if I am able to do that at this point. But thank you, for your obvious concern."

The four guardians did not like being in the company of their former companion and it showed in their stiff behavior.

"Take these four to the guest rooms. I will be enough to watch the prince," Sailor Earth explained to one of the staff. With a hurried bow he went to escort the four off which left only Endymion and the Lady Earth.

She sat down in her favorite chair and watched him carefully. "What brings you to my castle?"

As always, he grew stiff at the mention that the castle was hers. She knew he still thought of it as his and evidence to the contrary upset him.

"Our own wedding is in six months, when I heard she would be here, I came to speak with her on our own preparations."

The Lady Earth laughed. "I have attempted to speak to my son about his planning and he refuses to grace me with a single word of it."

"I want to have my wedding here, in this castle."

She paused in her laughter and stared at him with a smile still on her face. It seemed to make him uncomfortable, especially when her eyes began to glow.

"I see. Of course I should allow you this request. I fought hard to have Hirokazu's wedding at the temple, I should grant your request in turn." She leaned back in her chair. "I will allow it."

Endymion smiled and reached his hand out to her to shake it in thanks when something seemed off. He spoke to her but she heard no sound. He was moving slowly to her senses and she went to stand. Before she was up, though, she felt a terrible vibration in her chest and watched in horror as Endymion began to glow and crumbled away to ash.

She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

* * *

><p>Hirokazu was away from Hotaru the moment the news came to his ears. His mother had collapsed and Endymion was missing. He was through his portal and in moments he stood in the throne room.<p>

He ran to the medical ward where Yukio already stood.

"What happened to her?!" Hirokazu screamed. He had his hands on her shoulders as if he could will her to wake back up. "Yukio, what happened, what is going on?"

Yukio shook his head. "I… do not know. The four guardians left the room while she and Endymion spoke. One of the guards heard a scream and when he managed to break down the door, he saw someone using magic against the prince… the Lady Earth collapsed and the attacker fled."

Hirokazu wanted to cry as he looked at the Lady Earth laying there. He had never seen his mother so much as sleep before, she never closed her eyes for long periods of time.

She looked dead.

"Mother." His eyes stung as he wiped tears from them before glaring at his older brother. "Mother's security cameras cannot be taken down! Find who did this, I will kill them!"

For the first time, Yukio bowed and walked out. He gave this command as much respect as he gave the commands of the queen. Hirokazu was left alone with her.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed before someone put a chair behind him. When he sat down he saw the other figure for the first time.

"Sailor Pluto."

She bowed to him and then stood tall. "Greetings Prince Hirokazu. I wish we could meet on more pleasant terms."

He took his mother's hand in his own and did not move.

"The attack on Endymion and your mother's collapse… it signifies terrible things to come."

He did not look up to acknowledge she was speaking to him. Such things felt beneath him at this moment. All that went through his head was if she were to die, he would take her throne. He did not feel ready to rule a kingdom.

They remained in silence until Yukio walked back in. Hirokazu spun around, fully expecting someone to be dragged along with his brother. There was an obvious look of disappointment when he saw none standing there.

"The cameras were on, but whatever the attack was, it shut them down."

"Oh," the Guardian of Time sighed. "Is that all? Your mother should be fine shortly, Prince Hirokazu."

Both looked at her, wondering why she seemed so relieved at the news. Hirokazu, though, looked back down at his mother.

"I want whoever did this brought before me. I will tear his black heart out with my hands and devour it before him," he growled. Yukio said nothing of it and only nodded. Before Hirokazu could speak again, the queen began to stir.

"Mother!"

Her eyes were glowing and it soon faded. "Where am I…?"

Those words startled the prince, but the general was far more used to them. "She does this. Whatever happened must have wiped her memories." He stepped forward so she could see him fully. "My lady, you were in the tea room with Prince Endymion."

"The… last I remember I had left the Neo Queen with you…"

Yukio nodded. "Yes. You were in the tea room when you and Endymion were attacked. His body was destroyed and you were injured." He watched her sit straight up. "Do not exert yourself."

She ignored him and pushed herself to a standing position. Though Hirokazu tried to make her sit, she refused. The word that Endymion had been… killed… triggered something in her.

"I… have to find the intruder. I have to… protect the prince. That is my… is my duty…"

She could not break free of her son's grip. "Mother, please, rest! You do us no good if you go out like this!"

"S-someone has invaded my home… k-killed Endymion… let me GO, Hirokazu!"

Pluto put her hand on her shoulder. "Lady Earth, do not exert yourself. Your general is more than capable of handling this."

She still refused and with a grim look on his face, Yukio punched her in the gut as hard as he could. She passed back out at once.

"My apologies, little brother." He then turned to the servant. "Confine the Lady Earth to her chambers, post four guards. Two on either side of the door. Alert me when she wakes again and do not allow her to leave."

* * *

><p>Yukio slid down to the ground once he was safely away from people. He wanted time alone with his thoughts.<p>

His queen had been assaulted in her own castle under his watch. The Prince Endymion was dead. The Lady Venus was with a potential suitor. What more could life do to him?

"Yukio?"

He looked up to see the Neo Queen standing over him. With a cough to hide the tears in his voice, he stood up on shaky legs. "Yes, my lady?"

He wasn't expecting the hug that came.

"I'm so sorry about this." Yukio could still feel some of the healing scars on her back from her capture. It made him feel terrible even though there had been nothing he could have done to prevent them.

He ran a hand over the largest one. "Do not apologize. I am… simply a failure. At all that I do."

She tightened her grip on him but he refused to show the emotion in his words. He would be strong, no matter what. His soldiers took their cues from him and he would not have his army fall apart when they would be most needed.

"You're not a failure. The enemy is strong. He says they are. And we can beat them." She let him go and stepped back to look up at him. He was over a foot taller than she was. Yukio could see dust billow up from behind her, indicating that her companion was close by.

"They are slipping in and out without the knowledge of any. I cannot tell you how this vexes me," he admitted. Reaching up he tugged on his long hair, wrenching it free of its tie. "I am tasked to keep the castle safe! We have not been stormed since I let your guardians in to kill her a thousand years ago! How are they making it in? Only one from inside could possibly let them slip past, but none who have the ability would allow it!"

She grabbed his uniform and yanked hard, pulling him to her eye level. "You need to stop this! Stop blaming yourself for all the woes! You were still a child and had no true comprehension that you could have been betrayed! Now you are competent but are against an enemy you have no skill with! Do not moan that you cannot win after only one battle and quit like a spoiled brat!"

He blinked and stared at her with wide eyes. Her face was going red and he couldn't help by laugh. It was comical.

"V-very well, M-my La-ady," he gasped between his giggles. "Then, I shall begin your training seriously as you yourself are a Sailor Soldier."

With a smile he held his hand to her and led her back to the courtyard. One of the attendants informed him that the Inner Soldiers had arrived with the last of the civilians from the Moon and he was to meet with them.

"Very well," he said. "Have them meet me in the courtyard. Do not worry, cousin, I will not let your training fall to the wayside."

He looked out the large, ornate doors to see them coming his way and the Neo Queen going forward to meet them. As he waved at Sailor Venus with a sheepish look, something caught his eye.

As the Neo Queen bowed in greeting to Princess Kakyuu, her dress shifted down slightly.

Where did that handprint on her back come from?


	29. Chapter 29

Hirokazu was sitting outside the door leading to his parent's room on the Moon. Following the events in Elysion, he felt he needed to be away. He worried for his mother but being there just hurt. He would make himself sick sitting there and trying to find the culprit for the attacks.

Whoever it was, they could get past his mother. They could do real damage before she could even begin to comprehend that someone was in the room with her. How did you fight that?

"Hirokazu?"

He looked up to see Alexander walking up the corridor. He sharply turned away and stared at the floor, tugging on his short hair. He wanted the man to just walk on and ignore him, it would give him an easier time to dislike his father. To his dismay, Alexander sat on the ground with him.

"What is wrong?"

Hirokazu wanted to keep silent, but he felt it all bubble up inside him. "She may be killed next. And I can't stop it," he finally explained. "Hotaru may die, Safa may die, you and… and mother, too… I will lose everyone."

Alexander seemed to not be listening. He pulled himself back up with a grunt and moved inside the room, leaving his son to his thoughts. So, the man didn't really care after all. That made things all the easier.

He was about to get up himself and track Hotaru down when something dropped in to his lap. It was a very old toy and for just a moment, he felt like a small child again.

"Mister Stuffs!" he shouted. The old teddy bear had not changed.

"I am glad you remember him. You loved this bear more than anything." Alexander sat back down with him. "It was a gift upon your birth from my sister. One of our staff gave him his name and it simply stuck with you."

He watched Hirokazu stare at it. "When you slept, I would take him from you and hide him in the room. Your mother used to get so angry at me over it. You would run about, crying for him. You never stopped until you found him." Alexander laughed. "Why, you used to blame Yukio for it."

"Why do you laugh?"

"Ah… because I am simply a bastard who easily finds amusement in the distress of his small child," he admitted. "Regardless of that, Mister Stuffs represents all you have just told me. He would be lost to you, and you would stop at nothing to find him. You cannot tell me that this has changed."

Hirokazu shook his head and patted the teddy bear on the head, reliving those ancient memories of crying and searching for his favorite comfort item.

"We are reborn by the grace of the Silver Crystal. If they die, you will seek them until they are found. So, do not worry."

He didn't know what to say to that. He stood back up after a moment and looked to the door.

"I… would like to go sit with mother, now."

It made Alexander smile and he nodded. "Of course, of course! This way!" He led his son inside and allowed him in the room where Ninah slept. He watched the prince climb on the other side of the bed and fall asleep.

* * *

><p>Mercury was sitting at the main computer with a mountain of books surrounding her. It was late and the only light was from the screen and the only sound was the clacking noise of the keys. She paused to flip through a book and went back to her work.<p>

The Neo Queen had a handprint on her back, the same that was found on the enemy that Prince Hirokazu had killed. With the help of the Sailor Starlights, the Lore Keepers, she had a general idea of what was going on, and it troubled her.

'_Chaos_.'

Chaos was an ancient enemy that had been sealed away by the first Sailor Soldier. None knew how she had done it, or if she'd had help. It had ended his reign of terror across the cosmos, however. Every Sailor Soldier learned of this.

She had not made it out of the battle unscarred, though. She had a handprint around her throat from where he tried to stop her, and he had used that as an anchor to keep his influence spreading. Any with that mark on them had received it from his agents and would be compelled to act on his orders.

And now the Neo Queen was marked.

She kept typing, trying to find every known instance in the past two thousand years of that mark surfacing.

'_Sporadic. It's not centralized, and seems to be random…wait! This is a clear path to our solar system!_'

Though the dots were spread out by time and distance, they could plot a clear path. The first known arrival came a thousand years ago. There was something about the date that made Mercury uneasy, but she couldn't figure out its significance.

'_A thousand years ago, someone reported that mark and it was logged by mother… but the queen did nothing about it. Laughed it off. Of course, by then it was the imposter._'

Was this planned? Could the imposter have been working with Chaos?

Mercury transferred the information over to the station Sailor Star Maker had been using before putting a password on her own.

'_Can't run the risk_,' she told herself.

She got up to turn and leave but spat blood instead due the silver knife now sticking out of the stomach.

"You…"

Her attacker smiled and pulled the blade out, only to swipe it in the air. Mercury's throat was cut open and she fell to the ground, dead.

* * *

><p>The alarms woke Hirokazu from a dead sleep and he was on his feet at once. After a thousand years of war, he was conditioned to move as soon as an alarm blared. Almost always, it meant go in to hiding. Now, he was looking for the cause.<p>

He stopped outside the computer room to see guards waving any remaining personnel away. Sailor Jupiter saw him being told to leave and stepped out of the room.

"Let Prince Hirokazu pass," she ordered. The guard nodded and stepped aside. Hirokazu slipped under the rope and walked in.

"What's happening?"

Jupiter stopped and so did he. Right above the corpse of Sailor Mercury. His eyes went wide as he saw it. He remembered the first time he saw her, he'd thought she couldn't possibly have been a Sailor Guardian. She was too weak, too much of a scholar. But she'd proven herself on the battlefield and deserved her title.

How could someone have killed a person who was so smart? Had she not seen it coming?

"No…"

"We found her just now. We don't know who did this."

Hirokazu shut his eyes and choked back vomit. '_It's not the same as Miyu… I didn't kill her. Not my fault. Not my fault._'

He knelt down and pushed his hands against his eyes, trying to blot out the visions in his head.

Jupiter put a hand on his shoulder. "We need to move your parents. I know your mother isn't stable, but it's no longer safe here."

For once, Hirokazu didn't argue that Lady Ninah wasn't his mother. He just nodded in agreement. "Of course."

As he walked out the door he paused just out of sight to hear Sailors Mars and Jupiter talk to one another.

"Is it him?" Mars wondered.

"Can't be. His reaction was too violent to be an act." Jupiter sighed. "I guess his father was right that he'd been asleep when it happened. What about that boy?"

"In questioning now. Who is doing this? It isn't Chaos, it simply can't be. He was sealed away."

He heard movement. "The handprint. Those who wear it are under his command and pass the trait on."

With a heavy sigh, Hirokazu walked on. He aimlessly bumped in to staff and never bothered to apologize. As he walked, he could recall the memories his father had told him about. Trying to find Mr. Stuffs all the time, never knowing his own father had hidden the bear to amuse himself.

Every time he had the bear in his arms, all was right with the world and he would vow to never let the bear be lost again. Was this what he was to do now?

He opened the door to the room to see his brother and Lady Venus. "Oh. Why are you here?" he asked.

"We are moving mother," Yukio explained. Ninah was awake and moving with help from Alexander. "It… is not the best idea, but I am using a portal rather than official transport. It is faster that way."

Hirokazu absently reached up and snagged Mr. Stuffs out of the air as Alexander tossed it to him.

"Safa has already arrived at our castle and is with the Neo Queen. The remaining personnel will be moved by nightfall, England time."

Hirokazu nodded. "Of course." He turned to get a good look at Earth from the window in the corridor. The shadow of night was nearing England as they spoke. "I hope it isn't too late already."

* * *

><p>Yukio finished setting his parents up in the castle, in one of the spare rooms. Lady Earth had yet to wake and that left his brother in charge.<p>

At the moment, Prince Hirokazu was laying on the walkway above the door to the throne room and was staring at the mural on the arched ceiling.

"Do you plan to actually do anything?" Yukio demanded. "You have yet to move since our return."

As if to piss him off, Hirokazu stood up and turned around to lie down in the opposite direction.

"That was not cute when you were seven and it is not cute now."

He ran a hand down his face when his brother flipped him off in response. Yukio marched up the staircase and grabbed his brother by the front of the shirt and hauled him to his feet.

"You are a prince, and you will act like one!"

Yukio cursed when Hirokazu punched him across the face and staggered back from the shock. Ripping energy from the very air around them, the prince hurled it at him and it sent him over the ledge. Guards began to pour in at the sound of a fight but the general held a hand up.

Hirokazu choked as he felt the air leave from around him. He was like that for several long moments until Lady Venus came in to see what was going on.

"What is happening?" she demanded. With Yukio's concentration gone, Hirokazu sucked in air and coughed.

"Nothing," Yukio insisted. He turned away to see Safa. "Hirokazu forgets himself." He pat his sister on the shoulder and went to walk away. He had no sense that anything was wrong until the Neo Queen, who had followed Sailor Venus, screamed.

He turned around and grabbed Safa without thinking. Hissing in pain, he felt her slice his arm with one of her knives. "What is wrong with you?" he demanded.

From under the sleeve of her uniform, he saw the handprint, where he had touched her just seconds before. '_How is it possible?!'_

Safa threw the blade at Hirokazu who only swat it aside. She ran and kicked him in the chest before throwing another blade at one of the soldiers who tried to come and stop her.

"Don't let her touch you!" Hirokazu ordered. "She'll mark you!"

'_But how did I mark her?!_' Yukio screamed at himself. He recalled hugging the Neo Queen and then seeing the mark on her back. Was it more than an unhealed injury?

Yukio grabbed Safa's wrist and tried to break it to stop her. She used momentum to flip her body with his hand and ran her nails down his face, missing his eye by less than a centimeter. Blood ran in to his mouth and he retched at the taste.

Venus came to assist him and with her chain, she managed to lasso Safa and wrench her off as the others arrived.

"Heh… you and I make a good team," Yukio admitted. Reluctant to touch her now, he backed off with caution.

Venus pointed to her. "Be careful! Transport Sailor Ara to the dungeons!"

Yukio went to say something else when his instinct kicked in. Grabbing Venus by the wrists, he pulled her as close to him as he could before coughing. Blood splattered on the wall and he heard the sound of Safa being restrained further.

"BROTHER!" Hirokazu fought against Sailor Star Maker who held him back when the blade was forced in to his brother's spine.

Yukio collapsed on Venus and they fell to the floor with blood pouring out. Venus felt it stain her uniform and even her long hair, but she tried to shake the general back to consciousness.

"Yukio! General Yukio!"

"I guess… she told the truth." His words were weak as he spoke. "She would kill me."

"Call for medical help!" Venus shouted. "General Yukio, do not fall asleep! Stay awake, stay with me! You're supposed to help fight the enemy!"

His eyes wandered to the Neo Queen. "But… the enemy is already here."

Venus shook her head and shook him again. "No. No, don't…"

"I always wanted to tell you how pretty you look. I guess… I'm still just a stupid child."

Sailor Venus was still choking back her tears as General Yukio died.


	30. Chapter 30

Pandemonium erupted in the grand hall of the castle the moment Yukio died.

"Capture her!" Hirokazu screamed as he pointed at his sister. She was infected. The Neo Queen was, too. Maybe Sailor Venus as well.

How many people had to die?

His hands were trembling as the soldiers ran in and Sailor Star Maker finally let him go. He fell to his knees and vomited. He was vaguely aware of Hotaru's presence behind him and did not react when she knelt beside him.

"Search everyone. Find who has been marked," he said in a raspy voice. "I don't care who it is."

After a moment of hesitation, he tore several buttons off as he yanked his shirt hard. Hotaru ran her hand over his back and shook her head.

"You're okay."

"Lock the infected in their chambers. If they share with others who are not infected, move the uninfected." He looked over at his brother and the large pool of blood he and Venus were in. "Prepare for burial. I…"

He stood up and stormed down the hall, followed by Hotaru and Sailor Star Maker.

"Let me through!" Hirokazu yelled at the guards stationed outside of his mother's room. They jumped aside as the doors slammed open. The two inside were almost struck. "Get out."

Not wanting to enrage the already angry prince, they did so. Once the doors were shut again, he collapsed to the ground and tried hard to bottle up everything that was ready to explode. Hotaru put her arms around him and just sat on the ground next to the bed.

His worst nightmares were coming true. His sister was taken, his brother was dead, his mother refused to wake…

The moment he finally felt Hotaru with him, he grabbed her hand and refused to let go.

"You must go to Saturn," he finally rasped.

The confusion was drawn on her face and she tilted her head. "Why?"

"Away from here! Any place away from this will be safe, I will not lose you, too!"

She refused to budge and the silence was deafening. Maker coughed in to her hand to break the tension.

"I hate to bring this up, but, you are in command, correct?" she wondered. Hirokazu glanced to her and nodded. "According to the laws, with the Neo Queen marked and untrustworthy and Prince Endymion gone, that puts you in charge of all of this. It would be the Lady Earth, but…"

Sailor Earth took a deeper breath in her sleep, answering the unspoken statement.

"I… I cannot be in command. I do not belong in command. I am not prepared, mother kept me from the horrors of war and battle."

"You will succeed. I have faith in you." Hotaru smiled in an attempt to cheer him up. He was silent again as Maker went to the door.

"I will tell the others what has happened. Please present you plan to us at your earliest convenience, Prince."

* * *

><p>The Neo Queen sat on the bed of the guest room given to her by Hirokazu. She was not locked in, but was confined to the palace and was to have her hands bound upon leaving her room. It wasn't fair, but she understood. She was marked.<p>

"How am I marked?" she asked. Her companion did not answer.

"Why did Yukio say that the enemy was already here?" she asked. Again, her companion did not answer.

"You have protected me before, why do you say nothing now?"

He did not answer.

The Neo Queen did not want to move. She wanted this to be a bad dream. She would have preferred to find herself waking in the dungeons with Demetrious speaking to her and comforting her than face this painful reality.

Was it all her fault? Did she mark Yukio? Or did he mark her? She wanted to talk to the Lady Earth, but couldn't. She wanted to talk to her sister, but couldn't.

With a frown, she stood up and began to pace. Back and forth for a long time.

"_Have you reconsidered?_"

She looked up with a start at the sound of his voice. _"I told you this day would come. Didn't I?_" The Neo Queen thought back, putting her hand to her forehead. Had he?

"_I'll help you. Think of it as your payment for using my power._"

She saw the gloved hand reach out to her and stared for a long time. She then heard footsteps coming to her room. Soldiers. At the moment she realized that, it felt like a haze lifted from her eyes and she stepped back.

As the door to her chamber opened, the soldiers could only watch as she jumped from the window overlooking the courtyard and dashed to see her land in a tree, climb down, and flee.

Unseen by them as they sounded the alarm, Chaos frowned.

"_This was not in my plans…_"

* * *

><p>As he stared out the window she escaped from, all Hirokazu could do was realize just how angry his brother had to have been when he did the same thing.<p>

"Yukio, I wish you were still alive so I could apologize to you for this." He leaned his head against his arm and stared. There was no telling where she had gone off to, or even why she had fled. Was it because of Chaos? His marked agents seemed to be hanging around, so he didn't know if this was normal or not.

"Are you okay?"

Hirokazu looked up to see Hotaru walk in, followed by Sailor Mars. He just looked back out the window. "Maybe. …I don't know."

"We've sent our people to find the queen, but there is a danger in that she may mark them."

The prince frowned. "I'm aware of that."

"What do you want us to do?"

Hirokazu thought before closing his eyes. "Go back and prevent this from happening?"

Hotaru smiled. "If Sailor Pluto would allow it, we would. Uranus has suggested that we put up the barrier. They have already left to do so."

"I do not recall authorizing that." He rubbed the bridge of his nose when he felt a headache come. "Never mind. If they believe it will be helpful, then by all means. Still no word on mother?"

Neither said anything and he nodded.

"Of course. I don't have a plan, I just want this nightmare to end. I want to wake up in the motel and, by God, have the soldiers of the Moon beat the door in. Those enemies I could handle. This is… nothing like what I've faced."

"From what I understand, you have not faced much," Mars pointed out.

He looked back to her with disinterest. "I have faced Selene, I have faced those monsters, I faced the imposter… this is something wrong in its entirety."

He went to speak again when a soldier ran in, breathless. The three turned to the boy who was white as a ghost.

"P-Pr-Prince Hirokazu! Y-you must come, at once!" he gasped. There was blood on his hands and uniform, but none of it seemed to be his own. Without waiting to see what he had to say, Hirokazu was out of the room, followed by Hotaru. Only Mars stayed behind to tend to the messenger.

It was easy to follow the blood trail and find that it led to the quarantined corridor. Lying in the hallway was Sailor Jupiter.

Just like Sailor Mercury, she'd been stabbed to death.

Hotaru covered her mouth and nose while Hirokazu fought back the bile in his throat. "Who did this?" he demanded. He did not sound very intimidating at the moment. Sailor Star Fighter was knelt down next to the corpse, studying it. She was humming to herself.

That made him angrier. "I asked you a question, woman!"

Sailor Star Healer shrugged. "She gets this way when she thinks, prince. Let her be. We heard the scream and came to investigate. Maker saw a small figure run away and is chasing it as we speak." She looked back to her companion. "Half the guard went with her."

"A knife attack. See how the flesh is torn near the top? The blade has a hook in it." Fighter pointed to the spot. "So, the blade went from right to left, trending up. Sailor Ara isn't our killer after all. The person used this to bring the taller Jupiter down to finish her off with a slice to the throat. Ara is supposed to be a champion with throwing blades."

"She needs to remain in custody, though. Any ideas?" Healer wondered.

Fighter nodded. "I think so. Let's wait for Maker to come back, hopefully with her in custody."

"What makes you think it was a woman?" Hirokazu demanded. The woman looked up at him and smiled before going to pull a sheet over the body.

"Tell the princess to prepare for another burial."

He lashed out and grabbed the shorter woman by the shoulder. She quickly freed herself from his grasp and his continuing momentum caused him to smash in to the wall, rather than pin her there.

"Because we are Sailor Soldiers, and we are a league all our own. She would not have been taken down by a man, or even a woman without comparable power."

Hotaru came to him and helped him stand straight. He just shoved her back hard and stood tall. "Don't give me that crap! Someone is causing all this to happen, my brother is DEAD because of this! Uki-… Demetrious is dead because of this! I know what happened to him, I know he won't just 'wake up'! I want answers, straight answers! Stop dragging this crap out, AND TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!"

The two exchanged looks and as Maker returned empty-handed, Fighter sighed deeply. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Three hours had passed and four pots of tea and coffee had been consumed before the story was finished. Sailors Venus and Mars had joined Hirokazu and Hotaru to listen.<p>

"So… the civil war was caused by Chaos. He marked that Sailor Soldier, and your mother suggested execution," the prince summarized. "But she survived, because she changed places with her sibling."

Princess Kakyuu nodded. "That is correct. The protocol for a mark is immediate execution if found. The marks are permanent, and the one who bears it will never regain control of themselves."

"What about Yukio? What about Serenity? The moment of marking causes them to lose themselves, but they were always the same." Hotaru sat her empty cup next to Hirokazu's, which had grown cold long before. "They never attacked."

"A person with a remarkable Will can hold off the effects, but will always pass the mark on. That cannot be controlled or stopped. Are you and your brother related to the Neo Queen?" she asked Hirokazu.

He nodded. "Cousins. Distant ones, of course."

"Then you must descend from the Twin."

He nodded again. "Yes. The male, the one who went crazy after having children and killed himself and his sister on their birthday."

That confused Sailor Star Healer. She turned to her companions. "Wasn't he marked? Isn't that what the books say?"

Fighter nodded. "He was. That was suppressed, though, for obvious reasons. Everyone was worried people would think he'd passed it on to his children, or his niece."

"The Royal Family has always had remarkable protection from the Mark of Chaos," Kakyuu continued. "It was inherited from their founder, and reinforced by their guardian. The First Sailor Soldier, and the Lady Earth, who was created to suppress the mark."

Hirokazu's eyes went wide. "Mother?"

"Your mother is not human. She is similar, but she is not one. For twelve thousand years she has slept in Elysion, she was only awakened by the imposter in hopes of destroying the Moon." Kakyuu thanked Sailor Venus for refilling her cup. "That is all we can gather, since the Guardian should still be sleeping. She should not wake, unless the Mark overwhelms the Royal Family and they fall to it. With outside help, my people created her, allowed her to learn, and then brought her here."

"She is not acting irregularly because of the death of Endymion, but because her programming is conflicting. However, at this point, there's nothing we can do," Fighter warned. "When she wakes again, we will try to set things back on course. I don't know how much the Imposter altered, though. I don't think it was in her plans to have the Lady Earth rebel and take over the Dark Kingdom."

Hirokazu stared at his partial reflection in his tea cup. "No matter what, though, we have to stop that girl. The servant who pretends to be a boy. She is our real killer."


	31. Chapter 31

"I have to go!" Hotaru insisted. She knocked Hirokazu's hand away as he tried to keep her with him. "The alarms have sounded, I MUST GO!"

"You will not!"

She ripped free of his grasp and staggered back. "You will not keep me here, Hirokazu! Something is happening, and it is my duty to investigate!"

They had been sitting for an hour after the conversation with Princess Kakyuu when a servant had informed them of the situation. The alarms for the castles of the three Outer Soldiers had sounded. Something had happened, and Hotaru was prepared to rush off at once.

Hirokazu was trying to stop her.

"You will die!"

Her glaive formed in her hand and she lowered it at him in effort to keep him back from her. He stopped his rush and looked at her with pleading eyes. To leave him would mean her death, something he did not want. The soldiers stood ready to break a fight up. Everyone was on edge with the mark running rampant.

"I will return to you. I promise," she whispered. "But I must go. Upon my return, I will not leave again."

He tried to contain the sorrow and sense of betrayal he felt. If she left him, she may not return. However, he could not stop a Sailor Soldier, no matter his rank. All he could do was to nod.

"Fine."

She turned returned her glaive to a resting stance and nodded in return. "I will be back before morning."

Hirokazu watched Hotaru leave, sick to his stomach at the thought he would never see her again. Once she was out of his sight, he turned to see his men standing there.

"What are you doing," he demanded. "Return to your patrols! There is to be another check in six hours!"

He felt like a tyrant. Every six hours, they would check for the mark. With the agent still loose, he could not take the risk. None would be infected on his watch. From his understanding, if his mother woke to chaos and pandemonium, she would go berserk.

Hirokazu slouched to the ground and put his face in his hands. Everything was falling apart.

"Are you okay?"

He looked up to see Sailor Venus standing over him. She looked like death warmed over, she had not been well since the death of Yukio.

"I will be fine. I should be asking you."

Venus shook her head and knelt down next to him. "You are the one who lost a brother."

Her words made him feel like more of a failure. He should be keeping composed in public, he should not let anyone see his grief but here she was, asking him.

"Hotaru has gone to be with the other Outer Soldiers. Alarms have sounded and she wishes to check. It could be nothing."

"Or…?"

"…or she could die."

He didn't know how he would react if she did. When Ukito died, his mother had gone through a range of emotions, most of them violent. She put a brave face on in public, though. This is what he should be doing. This was what he SHOULD be doing, but could not.

Venus put her hand on his shoulder and said nothing more. He was grateful for that.

"You and I will drive out this influence, and we will bring everyone back."

He wanted to ask how she could say that, but he desperately wanted to believe her. He stared forward at the wall and just nodded.

"Okay…"

* * *

><p>The figure stood over the unconscious queen as her body worked to restore itself. The two guards who had returned to the room were slumped unconscious against the wall and did not move. Next to him was the girl who wore a mad grin on her face. Her hands went out to grab the Lady Earth, but were stopped.<p>

"_She will not wear the mark. Rather, she will be of more use against the others._"

The girl frowned. "She'll undo all my work! Let me mark her, Father Chaos!"

"_The Neo Queen wears it instead. I will see the queen follow her orders and kill her. With her out of the way, nothing will stop me."_

She kept frowning and tried to reach again, only to feel the hand of Chaos close around her throat. She choked and gasped for breath and felt her face turn dark before being dropped to the ground.

"_You will not defy my command._"

She said nothing else. Chaos looked back to the Lady Earth. She was able to see him, even without the mark, and he had never shown himself to her as he had with the Neo Queen. Perhaps that was in her programming. However, as she did not know who he was, she had never acted.

Her 'sister', the prototype they had developed, had been far different from her. He had taken great pleasure in dismantling her himself, ripping her apart nerve by nerve. He planned to listen to the screams of this one as well. But this one was more willing to enter combat at a moment's notice. Perhaps to avoid the same fate as the previous one. That had easily kept her alive throughout his campaign against the Moon.

"_Your next command, my little one, is to stay alive._"

The girl looked up at him with confusion in her eyes.

"_You will not be in the battle. I need my agent alive to continue to spread my mark and work to destroy everything. Can you do that?"_

She smiled and nodded. Her hands covered her mouth to hide the mad giggle welling up inside of her. "I'll make everything burn," she promised.

"_Good._"

The girl danced around as Chaos continued to monitor the queen. With a motion of his hand, the girl was dismissed and she left the room, missing the patrol route in the hallway by moments. Chaos continued to watch until he was no longer satisfied with her sleep. He needed everything to go in to motion.

Holding his hand out he felt the magic weave around him before circling the sleeping queen. He knew how his energy felt to those who fought him – disgusting. Vile. Filthy.

With great satisfaction, he watched her wake with a start and he turned to leave.

After all, she didn't need to seem insane just yet.

* * *

><p>"Prince Hirokazu!" a soldier called out. Hirokazu looked up from his spot and leaned to see past the Lady Venus.<p>

"Yes?"

"She wakes, my lord, the Lady Earth is awake!"

Venus was toppled over in his mad rush to stand. He ran down the hall and was followed by the soldier who had given him the news. One of the staff was helping her stand back up. When she looked up to see who had come in, she smiled.

"Hirokazu…"

At the sight of her up and awake it was a signal that his stress would begin to end. She would take command, and he could go about finding the one responsible for the death of his brother, the soldier who marked the Neo Queen.

He grabbed her in a hug and stayed there like a child for as long as he could, and she did not argue. He broke down crying a moment later. "M-mother, he's, he's dead! Yukio is… is… is DEAD!"

He felt her tense. Clearly, she was not expecting such news.

"It's Chaos, mother! He has his… his hand here, and he has m-marked people! Even the, the Neo Queen! She escaped confinement, but she, she marked Yukio and he passed it on to Safa and Safa killed him!"

He barely felt her nails dig in to his skin at the mention; all he wanted was to stay where it was safe. "How was she marked?"

He shook his head. "I don't know…"

"How did she escape?"

"The s-same way I did," he admitted.

There was silence as she thought. Finally, she pushed him back to look him in the eyes. "Hirokazu, this is important. How many people have been marked? I need a list."

He wiped his eyes. "We will be checking in a few hours, but by my last count, thirty seven are marked. Most are servants and staff, though a few are Sailor Soldiers."

She said nothing to that and let him go. She made to speak but shook her head. Her hand pressed against her eye as if to stifle a great pain welling up.

"I, um… I know, mother. About you. Kakyuu explained it to me. We know who the instigator is," he explained as she stood there. "We are searching for her already, it's okay."

She finally made a sharp hissing noise. As he went to see what was wrong, one of the staff in communications made themselves known. Hirokazu turned to him.

"Prince Hirokazu, I… there is an alert." The prince stared. "From castle Charon."

He did not want to go. He knew in his heart what was happening, but he didn't want it to be real. "Hotaru…"

"Seal the castle. Separate the marked from the spared," the queen finally announced. "I will deal with them myself."

Hirokazu turned when he heard the sound of a blade being drawn. The queen had pulled out her sword. "M-mother! What are you doing?"

"I am dealing with our problem, Hirokazu."

He went white in the face at the implication. "You're going to KILL them! My sister is one of them! Y-Yukio was marked, would you have killed him, too?!"

She glared at him. "Yes."

"He was your top general! He worked by your side, endlessly! You cannot stand there and say you would kill my family, I am your SON!"

She backhanded him and he fell to the ground in a daze. "You will not question me. Gather the marked, and let me dispose of them!" She gasped and choked as Dark Energy began to condense around her. She was free with a swing of her sword. "How dare you strike me! YOU ARE MARKED AS WELL!"

People had gathered to see what was going on and Venus got between them. "He is not marked, he is mad with grief! How dare you attempt to strike down your own child, Lady Earth!"

"Y-you are marked as well, m-my ent-ti-ti-tire kingdom is tainted-d-d." Her movements became erratic. "I have to purge you. I have to be rid of you ALL!"

"VIRUS! Something has infected her!" Sailor Star Fighter warned. The gathered people scattered as the remaining Sailor Senshi stood around her.

"Initiating purge protocol."

Venus wrapped her chain around the Lady Earth's leg and pulled to get her off balance. Earth jammed her sword in to the stone flooring and used it as leverage to turn Venus' momentum against her. Venus was flung in to Sailor Star Maker. Fighter moved forward and gaped as the scabbard ran through her gut and out the other side.

"FIGHTER!"

Earth ripped it back out and swung it at Hirokazu. She missed him by inches.

"Mother, stop it!" He could only move to avoid her attacks. If the scabbard of her sword could be run through a person, he did not want to see what the blade itself could do. She swiped with both at his legs and he jumped back, only to land hard and crumple.

"Rolling Heart Vibration!"

"Star Sensitive Inferno!"

The attacks were decimated by her blade and she went to run it through her son. She was stopped when a gloved hand ripped her head backwards, almost enough to snap the neck.

Hirokazu coughed and pushed himself up. "N-Neo Queen Serenity?" His eyes went wide and he looked at his mother for a mark, only to be confused. There wasn't one on her face where the queen had touched.

"Goodnight, Sailor Earth."

"Goodnight. Shutting down." The Lady Earth slacked in the Neo Queen's grip and fell forward. She landed with a heavy thud on the stone floor.

"Gather the marked," the Neo Queen ordered at once. Her words were almost lost in the confusion of the moment before her staff knocked a chunk out of the palace wall. "Gather the marked! They can be purified!"

Maker and Healer glared at the queen. "You are infected, how did you even learn that passcode?"

She ignored them and went to help Hirokazu steady himself. "She will wake shortly. Gather them, we haven't much time."

He did not question her. If she believed she had a cure, he would take it. He began to lead her down the corridor to the quarantined room when the explosion caught him and threw him back.

He sat up while coughing hard. There before him was his sister. "Safa!"

She lunged at him with her blade in hand and he barely dodged in time. She brought it down and sliced his arm, causing him to scream. "W-what are you doing?! STOP!" He reached with his good arm and held her back, barely keeping the blade out of range. Her spare hand lunged forth and grabbed his face. He felt his gut clench in fear. He would be marked now.

There was a sudden lightness as Safa was thrown off him. The Neo Queen put her hand on his face and pulled back a moment later before helping him stand back up. When Safa jumped at them again, she screamed. The Neo Queen held her at bay and Hirokazu watched as the mark on her arm that Yukio unintentionally placed dissolved in light.

"I have been purified," the Neo Queen explained as Safa fell to her knees in horror. "I can undo the actions of Chaos."

"You can… you can save them?" Hirokazu asked with hope. She nodded and he felt his heart lift. Turning, he went to run down the corridor, to bring them to the Neo Queen, when the explosion rocked his body and slammed him in to the wall.

He coughed hard and was sure something had ruptured as he struggled to open his eyes. He did not know the figure before him, but he knew the ones at his back.

Sailor Soldiers. Hotaru among them.

"Hotaru!" He struggled to get away from the wall and inhaled sharply as her glaive pressed against his throat. "Hotaru, what… are you doing?"

The unknown figure laughed. "She follows my commands, boy. All will obey me, once I am rid of you and your infernal kingdoms."

The Neo Queen frowned. "I will not allow it. I am going to destroy you, Chaos."


	32. Chapter 32

Hirokazu didn't know what to do. He stood there with his cousin and his mother as infected soldiers began to step out of the rooms. Sailor Soldiers were with them and they were surrounded.

"What… do we do?" he asked. He never took his eyes off of Hotaru, or the glaive in her hands.

"We have to put them down." Sailor Earth drew her blade and spun, planting it in the chest of one of her soldiers. The boy, who looked to only be sixteen or seventeen, fell to the ground. "No survivors."

"NO!" Hirokazu grabbed her wrist as she made to strike Hotaru as well. "I won't let you! This is insanity! Y-you cannot kill Hotaru!"

There was an explosion of sound, stone and glass. The battle began in earnest against them all. Soldiers and Sailor Soldiers went against the queen and the prince as the Neo Queen began her fight against Chaos. Each blow that landed on Hirokazu was shrugged off as her fought against his own mother to keep her from Sailor Saturn.

He ducked to avoid a woman who tried to plant a knife in his throat and flipped back to avoid a swipe to his legs. When he heard his mother's sword swing at Hotaru he grabbed a third person to take the blow for her. As he lay dying on the ground, the handprint faded from the side of his face. Earth ripped the blade out.

"_Heh heh heh… recreate the war from a thousand years ago! You never 'won', you only set me back!_" Chaos roared.

Serenity attacked him as a soldier tried to shoot her. She took the bullet in her shoulder and screamed. Hirokazu went to her at once and hissed in pain as a ball of electricity struck him in the small of his back. Sailor Jupiter stood over him with a smile. Her gut showed unhealed wounds.

"What sick son of a whore would reanimate the dead…?"

In response to his own question he strained his neck to see Chaos still in combat with the Neo Queen who had gotten back up to fight. Hirokazu screamed again as he felt his flesh burn. Sailor Mars had grabbed him.

"May I be the first to say your age catches up to you," the prince said in a weak voice. He kicked back and knocked her aside, retching at the stench. "You're a coward, Chaos! Having corpses fight your battles for you! Is it because you know you cannot win against us?"

Sailor Earth swung her blade again and it was blocked. Sailor Saturn brought the glaive around and knocked her in to a wall. She coughed and pushed herself back up with a glare in her eyes.

"I will no-o-ot allow you to ta- to take my cas-tle," she warned. Her voice had a strange sound to it, one the Hirokazu could only describe as metallic. When the queen made to strike Saturn again, Hirokazu was up and between them, holding the glaive back with all of his strength.

"Stop it!" he shouted. "Stop fighting!" He was knocked off balance as Saturn ripped the glaive away and tried to bring it down on him and Earth knocked him aside to keep him from being hurt. Her arm bled where the attack struck. Clear liquid flowed with her dark blood and the wound began to seal itself very slowly.

He tried to get back up to stop them once more when shadows fell around him. The four Inner Soldiers had surrounded him.

"Of course I should find you here… Chaos would be a fool to not use you," he sneered. Mercury and Jupiter were clearly off balance from the wounds in their bodies and were little threat. It was Mars and Venus he had to worry about.

He kicked hard and sent Venus flying. She landed wrong and a sickening crack liquefied his insides. "I am sorry, Yukio," he whispered.

"Chaos! You are a coward!" the Neo Queen shouted finally. She held her side where blood oozed through the fabric of her uniform. "You send others to fight for you! You are supposed to be a tremendous evil and here you are, hiding behind women! Are you a child?"

The sound of fighting stopped moments later and Hirokazu watched the bodies of the infected drop, one by one, like someone had cut the strings on a marionette. A low rumble filled the hall which came to a head a black energy poured out from the figure.

"_I was going to keep you alive, Serenity. You would have been useful to me once this puppet was destroyed,_" he warned. "_But you have thrown off my command. I cannot have that._"

The Neo Queen fell to her knees in pain from the energy that clung to her while Sailor Earth held her hands out to absorb what she did not deflect. Hirokazu smiled. His mother could use the energy against Chaos!

"MOTHER!" His elation changed to horror in a moment when her eyes went wide and she doubled over in dry heaves. Black smoke began to pour out of her mouth as she 'vomited' the energy back up. Every pore on her body began to release the smoke. He ran to her and knelt down.

"Mother? Mother!" He watched as her movements grew stiff, like an old car that was breaking down.

Chaos smiled. "_She was never meant to hold so much energy in her. For centuries, she has been using it to sustain her body and has taken in too much._"

Sailor Earth finally fell to the ground, unable to move. All of Hirokazu's fears were coming true and he felt like he was in a nightmare. It was all too surreal.

He felt his body seize and lift from the ground as Chaos stepped over to his mother. He kicked her hard and the prince heard a rib crack. His mother screamed and Chaos smiled.

"_Good. I will listen to your shrieks of death as I listened to your sister,_" he taunted. "_But first, let us make this far more torturous for you, my lady._"

He kicked her to force her to her back and turned to Hirokazu who was now clawing at his throat. He could not breathe. Sailor Earth had tears in her eyes and a look of rage and pain on her face.

Hirokazu kept floating there as Chaos began to break down to that black smoke and surrounded him. It felt disgusting and wrong as it covered his body and his eyes snapped open. However, it was as if he was watching a play. He did not have control of himself.

"_I am going to kill you, Sailor Earth,_" Chaos promised in Hirokazu's voice. He reached down and took her by the throat and worked his fingers in her mouth. With a hard pull he began to wrench her jaw open with every intent of dislodging it or ripping it out.

The tears in her eyes began to spill and it broke Hirokazu's heart. With every bit of strength he had left, he tried to pull his hand back. To his amazement, it began to move! His mother gasped as the pain stopped and Hirokazu began to try and stand.

"_You will not control me!_" Chaos raged. His body seized at once as though a tremendous force was holding him back. A small object was formed over the Lady Earth and a pulse of energy from it threw them back. The form of Demetrious materialized over her as if to keep Chaos back.

It was so tiring to the prince. He could not control himself for much longer and he knew that as soon as his strength was depleted there would be no stopping Chaos. '_But even if it destroys me, I can't give up._'

That was when he felt it. Forcing his head to turn, he saw the Neo Queen swinging a blade of Silver Crystal at him. It passed through his body as if he weren't there, but he could feel Chaos' rage and a tearing sensation that burned.

"You will be destroyed, Chaos!" she called out as the blade came free of Hirokazu's body. There was a sharp pinch for a brief moment, and then he felt numb. His body collapsed back next to the Lady Earth.

"_NO! YOU CANNOT STOP ME! I WILL HAVE MY VICTORY!"_

"Sleep at the bottom of the shining light," Lady Earth spat as she tried to move again.

Hirokazu screamed as he felt the burn engulf his entire body and break.

The Neo Queen grit her teeth hard as she stood back to her full height and held a palm out, cupping the now free-floating Silver Crystal. "Please help us," she whispered. Hirokazu could still see as his vision began to blur out that she had aggravated her wounds. Blood was pouring like a fountain from her side.

The last thing he remembered was watching the light swell as she fell to the ground.

* * *

><p>He woke again with a start and bolted up in the medical ward. He was in his sleeping clothes and everything felt new and fresh. Nothing hurt anymore.<p>

He got up and hissed as his back felt unpleasant but thought nothing of it. One of the nurses came over to check on him. "How are you doing, prince?"

"My back itches," he whined.

The nurse nodded and felt his pulse. "Yes, I'd say so. I'm supposed to tell you that your mother and brother are waiting for you in the throne room. Along with half the soldiers."

He gave a start and grabbed the man by the shoulder. "My brother is dead."

The nurse shifted uncomfortably. "That hurts, prince Hirokazu. Please, just go to the throne room."

He let go and left at once. It felt strange to be walking through the corridors not properly dressed. No one gave him a second glance, though. He was grateful for that.

The door stood open and he walked in. His mother was back on her throne being tended to by people Hirokazu did not recognize. She was… 'opened up'. That was all he could describe it as. She was slumped forward and unmoving. Before he could yell and demand to know what was going on, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"You could not be dressed before making an appearance? Are you lazy, as well as a bastard?"

He turned to see his brother, General Yukio, standing there. "I… but I saw you…" He ran a hand down his brother's spine to feel for the wound he knew had to be there. Yukio just laughed at his confusion.

"The Neo Queen created a miracle," he explained. "The Silver Crystal restored all, though not without a price. She has lost her ability to transform. And… well, she has been heavily weakened. She rests, now."

Hirokazu looked back to the Lady Earth. The person with her forced her to sit back and opened her eyes to shine a light in them. "What are they doing to mother?"

"Fixing her." Yukio held Hirokazu back. "She broke down. Those are their words, I don't fully understand. She was feeding on the energy left behind by Queen Metallia which came from Chaos, but she wasn't meant to. It nearly killed her. They've purged her and she will be well when she wakes."

He stared for a long moment before snapping back to reality. "Hotaru. Wh-where is she?" He pulled free of his brother and shoved his way past people. Yukio called to him but he ignored it and continued down the hall to throw the door to her room open.

She was kneeling down on the floor to polish a glass lamp shade. He grabbed her in a hug so hard that she dropped it and caused it to crack. He felt like he could not let her go and squeezed tighter until she told him that it hurt.

"Don't go again," he begged. "Don't… don't leave again, don't go off and don't die." He heaved with sobs of relief. "Don't leave me again."

"I won't."

Hirokazu gave a sudden shudder and let go to frantically scratch his back. "It itches!" he whined. His shirt came off over his head as he tried to reach that one spot.

"Th-they did not tell you…?" Hotaru went to relieve the itch but was acting cautious. "Hirokazu, I… you need to see."

With a confused look on his face, he turned to look at his back in Hotaru's full length mirror. Running down on either side of his spine were two sets of claw marks, as though a wild animal had tried to rip him open.

* * *

><p>After four days of sedation, he was awake again. He had freaked out over the claw marks on his back and had needed to be restrained. Now he was back in the throne room in his best suit and favorite tie, standing next to his mother as she spoke to the weakened Neo Queen.<p>

Her hair had gone stark white and looked the same as when she was transformed. She needed aid to stand, or to sit. Endymion was seeing to her.

"I don't believe you'll ever recover from what you did," Lady Earth warned. "Bringing back the dead and purifying them almost cost you your life. If you had not been weakened already…"

"What's done is done, Lady Earth. I did what I had to do. And I do not regret it." The Neo Queen smiled before starting to cough. "You are all alive and well. I could not sit among your corpses. That would have been no victory, merely… survival."

She nodded. "You forced almost all of Chaos out of my son, thank you. But the anchor remains. Part of him will always be with us. A small piece that will grow and grow. We need to figure out how to stop it from causing more trouble."

Yukio looked up from the side of the throne room. "Hirokazu must never have children."

"Who the hell said you could decide that for me?!" the prince roared. Hotaru had to put her hand on his shoulder.

"This will only pass down the line, and our blood is already far enough from the protection the Neo Queen enjoys!"

Hirokazu knocked Hotaru's hand from his shoulder and pointed at his brother. "I will have children, and if you open your mouth one more time, YOU will be in charge of their diapers!"

Neo Queen Serenity put her hand to her mouth to hide a smile.

"After all I've gone through, you will not take happiness from me, brother! I deserve this!" He was down the steps and put his finger in Yukio's face. "You will NOT make any more decisions for me! I am the prince, and you will obey!"

The Lady Earth sat back down on her throne. "Such an exciting week."

"I am unsure of you, my lady, but I will be unable to sleep for weeks," Demetrious warned as he replaced her coffee cup. "Though, I suppose that is not saying much. I so rarely sleep to begin with."

Now that he was well again, Demetrious had returned at once to his duties. He still didn't sleep and it seemed that this recent trauma had scared him from trying it at all.

The Lady Earth took a long sip of her coffee as Hirokazu stepped away from his brother for a moment before punching him in the face. Yukio was knocked back and Hirokazu cradled his now-injured hand.

"Are you made of steel?!"

"You hit me!"

Some things would never change.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you for reading The Dark Kingdom.<em>

_Please keep an eye out on the archives for its sequel, 'Tricks of the Circus Company'._

_It should answer any further questions._


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